Archive for the ‘Opinions’ Category

You may remember that some many years ago a person, or people, in high Government office had certainly what I thought was a bright idea.  “Why not try running the South African Police Force as if it were a business?”  In order to put this in place a high ranking and successful South African businessman was seconded to the SAPF. At this time I was running a branch of Business against Crime and had occasion to meet the gentleman in person.  He set to work and many members of the general public applauded the move and sighed with relief that at last things were going to happen and the force would be run efficiently with the resultant reduction in crime.  I wasn’t privy to all that happened next, but for some reason Mr. Kahn vanished, almost as if in a puff of smoke, from the policing scene.
Today, in the opinion of many, nothing much has changed for the better and crime has got worse.  It is a fairly popular opinion that the thought of running the SAPF just like a business should be re-introduced without any hesitation.  Far too often we find very senior officers placed in similar positions to Company Chairmen, CEOs or MDs with little or no experience of how to run their particular area of “expertise” in a way that will show maximum profits in the business of crime fighting. These ‘managers’ are sent on seemingly endless courses in order to learn how it should be done. But it’s not always easy to get the horse to drink, even when you have got it to the water.
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From my very early days of childhood, and until this moment, I have always been fascinated by magic.  The fact that something very tangible can be made to disappear and then re-appear right in front of my eyes as I watch, I always find absolutely mind blowing.  But strangely enough I have never found myself seriously questioning how it is done, but have rather accepted it as part of the entertainment scene.  After all why break the wonderful illusion?
I wonder how much of crime perpetrated in the world today relies on the same principal for the criminal to successfully complete his highly lucrative profession.  There used to be a TV programme called “The Hustle”, I think on the BBC entertainment channel, where a group of actors dished out total injustice to poor unsuspecting victims and concluded by showing you, the audience, how it was done and refunding, I presume, the victim for any losses incurred.  I’m sure that I sometimes wondered how people could be so very gullible and fall for what, to me as the audience having the benefit of being told what was going on, was so very obvious.
I rather wonder if there is a huge open University of Crime, possibly even part of that large complex on the hill near the Pavilion, where instruction is regularly given and perhaps even Degrees and Diplomas earned.  This would apply particularly to the world of ATM and “cloned” card crimes which are becoming more and more lucrative to the criminal and costing our economy many billions of rand. We get very distressed when these crimes happen to us and we rave on about the inadequate policing services and how the Government must wave a magic wand to just make it disappear. I’m afraid that the SAPF can’t just call on the likes of David Copperfield for the answer, but we, the unsuspecting public, can take some very basic and straightforward precautions such as never letting a Debit, Credit or “in store” card out of your sight for a minute.
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Normally when you buy a property you are buying it as an investment, a home, a place of business or even a combination of all three.  But today sometimes the wheels come off your property investment and you are unable to get suitable tenants or maintain payments.  In this case the property may sometimes fall into a state of disrepair through lack of occupancy and a lack of maintenance and general upkeep.  This is when problems can begin to occur, particularly problems related to various types of crime.  Partly this is caused because our economy has certainly seen better times, although I am constantly being told that things are beginning to look better.

The fact is that our Town and many others are continuing to suffer from the many crime problems stemming from both vacant or derelict houses and derelict buildings in general. Very recently there was a murder related to illegal squatters living in a Westville house that has been vacant for some time.  In this particular case the victim was trying to shield someone from attack by another person wielding a knife and died in the process. As I understand it many complaints have been laid with the authorities over this property, over some lengthy period of time.  Local Politicians and representatives of Municipal Departments have presented various excuses and offered other avenues of approach, but still the problems remain unresolved.

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Julian Carter

As I write this article the opening games of the Soccer World Cup have been played. The hype over this event and the general preparations, by many thousands of people from all around the world, have nearly reached finality. By the time you read this it may be all over and I believe that if we are sensible we will begin sitting back and looking at a major review of what we did right and what we possibly did wrong.

Were we perhaps intent on just enjoying the games on TV and regularly complaining about the things that, in our rather selective opinion, went wrong? Read the rest of this entry »

We investigate what underpins this unique relationship between the South African Police Service (the Service) and local community bodies.

At the monthly Hillcrest Community Policing Forum (CPF) meetings, CPF Chairperson, Monica Bruun, takes crime prevention very seriously. Bruun believes that working with the police can make a difference in her community. But she is adamant that the community and the SAPS need to work together to achieve their objectives.

“I give the police a hard time when they deserve it and I give them support when they need it,” she says. “Our meetings are not well attended – people are not interested. They think crime is not their concern. But the police need our support because it is the only legal body that has the right to arrest a criminal, charge him and take him to court.” Read the rest of this entry »

Julian Carter

Many of us rush around in vehicles in different stages of repair, either our own or owned and maintained by others. As we set off we seldom think about the possibilities of a disaster, either minor or major, befalling us. A blowout while doing high speed, a person or animal running out in front of you or a seized engine. We also exhibit a form of blind trust and faith in the ability of others and their own equipment.

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Julian Carter

“A CANDID OPINION”

I would like to congratulate the publishers on this their first issue of Crime Zero and wish them every success with the venture.  I have been asked to continue with my articles which were originally published in the “West Beat” newsletter which has been discontinued.  My quest is to get the community talking and creating subjects encouraging  better communications and answers in the battle against crime.

- Julian Carter

Damaged crockery breeds germs:

As a child I learned very early that it was not a good idea to eat off, or drink out of, crockery that had been damaged in any way, as the damaged area was prone to gather germs of all types.  Today it concerns me when I see people eating or drinking from cracked crockery without seeming to even notice the potential problems or returning the dish to the kitchen.

This set me to thinking about some similarities with our constant battle against the germs of crime. Read the rest of this entry »