Money woes, crime walk together - The Citizen

Economic hardship does not excuse criminality, but it weakens the conditions that help prevent it.

Economic stress heightens desperation, creating fertile ground for survival crime and, where institutions are weak, expansion of organised crime. This is the danger South Africa now faces: mounting economic pressure is likely to drive more opportunistic crime, while weak state capacity gives organised networks room to recruit and operate.

Contributors to economic stress include rising consumer costs, regulatory burdens and geopolitical shocks, such as the disruption of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

All this in an environment of high employment 32.7% by the official definition, 437% by the expanded definition including those who have given up looking for work , and 46.1% among young people.

Many households are struggling to afford food, transport and electricity. In such conditions, financial desperation stimulates opportunistic crime, and weakens barriers that check petty theft and burglary.

Combine these factors with the legacy of state capture and reduced policing capacity and society must contend with higher crime and weaker law enforcement. The 135 840 aggravated robberies during 202425 point to a crisis in which economic decline and weak state capacity are reinforcing one another.

Both need urgent attention.

Elnieke Bronkhorst, Institute of Race Relations