Opinion: Using our Imagination In Seeking Alternative Responses to Crime

Written by Andrew Suderman

In November top cop Police Commissioner Bheki Cele spoke about taking a tough stance on criminals as reported by News 24.com. Using similar rhetoric as before, Cele was once again justifying the lethal use of force in response to the threat posed by “armed thugs.” “I will have a serious problem with police who do not use deadly force,” he said.

Cele even went further than before stating that not only must the police use deadly force in response to “armed thugs,” but that the community at large should respond likewise. “Police must decisively defend themselves,” Cele said, “together with the members of the community and citizens at large when they are under attack from thugs with guns in their hands.”

Cele makes these comments acknowledging and conceding, “that there are problems that we must deal with within the police.” He admitted that within the last two years there have been 1,300 police officers that have been arrested for various offences; 50% of that number ending with a conviction and a sentence.

This week a high-ranking police officer and a constable have been arrested in Cape Town for their alleged links to crime. A police station commander was arrested on Wednesday in connection with allegedly steeling 18 large bags of dagga (marijuana) from the evidence stores. This coincidence demonstrates concretely some of the problems that Cele concedes the police department is wrestling with. And so it seems inconsistent and incongruent knowing that there is an issue of corruption that the police force is wrestling. When corruption exists people are abusing the power with which they have been entrusted. And so, given that there already seems to be issues with the abuse of power within the police force, it seems somewhat confusing that Cele wants to increase the amount of power that is given to his officers. In this case, however, it is not even about power of the law it is power over life and death itself.

Cele’s response to the threat posed by “armed thugs” is also troubling in that he not only wants the police to defend themselves, but wants the members of the community to do likewise. His words invite the potential for “vigilante ‘justice.’” This does not seem to be an effective solution, both in the short or long term.

Ultimately, the greatest concern about Cele’s comments is his belief that more violence, both from the police and the community at large, will solve the complex problem of crime in South Africa. Cele’s comments demonstrates a lack of imagination in that for him “battling” crime entails the very actions that are embodied and exhibited by the “armed thugs” they are battling against. In other words, Cele is encouraging his officers to use the same tools that the “armed thugs” are using. In addition, the increased use of force and violence will, I fear, do little to shape the imagination of both the police and the citizens towards a creative path that is peaceful in South Africa.

Cele’s answer to crime and the threat of “armed thugs” is not new. Many from all around the world have continued to pursue an answer to the problem of crime through an increased use of force and violence. These attempts at solving the problem of crime have not, however, demonstrated many positive fruits in deterring criminal activity or behaviour. This is true for several potential reasons:

1) Once a criminal is caught, they are sentenced to serve time in prison. There are many statistics that have shown that throwing people in prison does not deter criminal behaviour, nor does it invite those who have been placed in prison to change their actions in the future. “Prisons are violent institutions and there is no evidence to indicate that imprisonment reduces crime or the risk of re-offending. There is in fact evidence indicating that it has the opposite effect” (Muntingh, pg. 3). Prisoners are often sentenced to live in an exceedingly violent environment for the duration of their sentence. In this environment, violence will become a coping mechanism, a way to solve problems, even a way of communicating while inside prison. Prisons possess an atmosphere that nourish and encourage violence. We should not, therefore, be surprised that when that person is released they have not learnt how to be peaceful.

2) We fail to understand the context from which criminals come. Many children and youth do not grow up wishing to be a criminal. More often than not, there are tough circumstances that exist within their personal lives that need to be addressed. Promising more violent action towards them does not help alleviate these issues. We often fail to see the connectivity between those who become criminals from and the social ills that they strive to overcome, sometimes the same social ills that we may be responsible in creating.

3) There is a lack of imagination that is expressed in solving problems of crime. Once we legitimize and justify the use of violence in the attempt to rid criminal activity and in resolving conflict, we fail to be imaginative as to what other solutions there might be in resolving conflict in a nonviolent method. Willingness to use violence clouds our creative imagination to think of alternative solutions.

The way in which we respond to wrongdoing has many implications for the future. It is important to be imaginative in response to wrongdoing and criminal behaviour. Here are some concrete ideas that could help change the way we respond to criminal behaviour:

1) Work to meet the need for drastic change with regards to the social realities that many people in our country face. Poverty, for example, is one social ill that some will understandably try to find ways to change. Some may turn to criminal activity in order to change this reality for themselves. If we strive to change the reality of poverty we may see a change in the need to tackle that social ill through wrongdoing.

2) Provide courses on Nonviolent Crisis Intervention or Peacebuilding Seminars through the Regional Peace Network for all police officers. In this way, police will be trained and encouraged to find more imaginative ways of responding to criminal behaviour and the threat posed by wrongdoers than simply resorting to further violence.

3) Provide drug and alcohol rehabilitation for those wanting to take advantage of such opportunities. It is well documented that there is a direct correlation between criminal activity and drug or alcohol addiction.

4) Find ways to provide further education to those who have been involved in criminal activity in order to create alternative possibilities as to how people can support themselves and their family.

5) Provide Alternatives to Violence programs to those who are incarcerated so that they can learn other ways of dealing with conflict.

6) Seek ways in which the police can be community and peace builders. Involve police as partners in community development seeking ways in which communities can restore right relationships when they are broken through wrongdoing.

7) Rather than focus on the increased need for more violence and weapons in response to crime, focus on limiting and withdrawing weapons from circulation.

8) Explore ways to restore what has been broken through criminal activity and wrongdoing in order to create true accountability and responsibility for one’s actions.

9) Strive to use imaginative ways of responding to violence, criminal activity, and wrongdoing that does not imitate that behaviour. Seeking other ways to respond to these behaviours will, in turn, shape the imagination of the country as to how one deals with criminals in an alternative way rather than simply relying on the increased use of force and violence.

Viewed through Cele’s lenses, the perception seems to be that the community must work defensively towards those who are “enemies,” thus the need to be on-guard against those that threaten our life and lifestyle. We can, however, take a different approach in understanding why criminals have participated in wrongdoing and seek ways to help them restore the wrong they have done.