Why law enforcement is not enough: lessons from the Central Karoo on breaking the cycle of crime and violence.

Abstract

A 2003 initiative to develop a crime prevention strategy for the Central Karoo District Municipality helped formulate the ‘life cycle’ that perpetuates crime and violence, which is discussed in this article. Children’s developmental needs are obvious and logical if we are to raise young people with good self esteem, who are capable and prepared to contribute to society in a constructive manner. Yet in the Central Karoo (and many other communities) our children’s needs are being ignored. As a result, children learn to fend for themselves and some quickly tip over from being vulnerable victims to becoming young offenders. This article shows that as long as we ignore children’s needs, we can never build a criminal justice system that will adequately address crime and violence in South Africa. It demonstrates why safety is an issue for society as a whole and not just for the police, courts and prisons.