South Africa - Our Crime Rate
- Words: Jeanne -


Once upon a time, not so long ago, my friends and I used to be able to walk to each other’s houses at night, sleep in tents in the garden and go to sleep with our doors unlocked. It was just the other day… and it all changed overnight. What the hell happened?! The crime rate in this country is getting worse and worse and our government is doing fuck all to solve the problem. They are so money orientated that all they focus on is the so-called crimes that you can fine a person for. In this country you’re chucked in jail for talking on a cell phone while driving yet there are murderers and rapists roaming the streets. And how many times have I seen a policeman or traffic officer talking on their phones whilst driving? How does that work?
About five years ago my mom dropped me off at school as usual but as she was about to pull away a traffic officer came to the window and said that he was going to write her a ticket. He then went on to explain that because our school was on the right hand side of the road (main road – let me add) and we were driving on the left hand side (duh) she had crossed a solid white line to drop us off at the school’s entrance and had “broken the law”. My mother was quick to point out that every single other parent in a car was doing the same thing and that if this was such a huge problem how the hell do you get your kids across the road without them getting squished? He said that he was just doing his job, which is understandable, and handed her the ticket. It was for 3 grand or some crazy amount. My mother went on her way and evidently sorted out the problem with the traffic department. Three years later a cop rocked up at our gate. He explained to my mom that they had been looking for her for years now and that she was under arrest. My mom stood there gaping at him. She reasoned with him and was allowed to make a phone call while he waited outside. She organized with a friend to take us to school and as soon as we’d left the cop told her that she had to go with him to court because her hearing was later that day. My mother agreed but said she’d follow in her own car. When they arrived at some shitty little courtroom/police station out in the middle of nowhere she was told that she had to be handcuffed and put in the holding cell. In this holding cell there were about 20 men, all awaiting trial for murder and rape. She realized that if she was put in that cell with those men they’d tear her apart and that’s when she lost it. She locked herself in her car and phoned our family lawyer. He freaked out at her for not phoning earlier and said that he’d be there in 20 minutes and that she was not allowed to climb out of the car. He ended up paying the fine for my mom because she wasn’t carrying around 3 grand plus extras and got her “criminal record” cleared. He also tore chunks out of these cops because 1: They weren’t allowed to put her in a holding cell. 2: They weren’t allowed to put her in handcuffs, and 3: They weren’t allowed to put her in there with men. Amongst about 20 other laws they broke. The bottom line is – they treated those rapists in the cells with more respect than they treated a woman with a traffic fine. And why? Because they thought that she was some brainless idiot who would just let them push her around and then take her money. And this shit happens every day! The scum are out there roaming the streets while the people they prey on are put in jail for parking tickets! And we can’t do anything to change it until our government will let us – and that will never happen. They are quite content to let us pay for their BMW’s and penthouses in Sandton. And if they can’t get that right it’s OK, because then they can always embezzle some extra cash! Because they aren’t going to end up in jail – WHERE THEY BELONG – we are.
Just whatever you do – know your rights. Because if the cops don’t protect you, they’re the only thing keeping you safe.