Warwick Bruce Chapman

Why are we not focusing on crime prevention in South Africa?

“South Africa has had a comprehensive crime prevention policy agenda for some time in the form of the 1996 National Crime Prevention Strategy and the 1998 White Paper on Safety and Security. Despite this, prevention has remained very much a second cousin within the South African criminal justice family, notwithstanding the fact that there is widespread agreement that it warrants far more attention.” — Julie Berg and Clifford Shearing in “The practice of crime prevention”

Crime prevention – 1996 National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS) *

This is South Africa’s overarching policy on crime prevention. It was intended to be the guiding framework for a wide range of interdepartmental programs aimed at increasing safety. The four “pillars” of the NCPS covered improving criminal justice functioning, environmental design, community values and education, and transnational crime.

At its peak, the NCPS was seen as one of six pillars of the country’s National Growth and Development Strategy, a far-sighted move that recognized the vital role safety plays in development. However, the change of administration in 1999 ushered in a new approach to how government would deal with crime. Political pressure was mounting on government to deal with the rampant crime problem, and the longer-term approach of the NCPS was not appeasing the fears of the public or of politicians. In the end, shortrange thinking prevailed, the Growth and Development Strategy was shelved in favour of the Growth, Employment, and Redistribution Strategy (GEAR).

With the possible exception of victim support, most of the social programs envisaged by the NCPS never came to fruition.

Law enforcement – 2000 National Crime Combating Strategy (NCCS) *

The 1996 National Crime Prevention Strategy was largely drafted by a panel of civilians and was widely distributed for comment. The NCCS, on the other hand, was produced in-house by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and has never been issued as a public document. The NCPS was, in theory, an interdepartmental policy, while the NCCS is explicitly a security cluster matter.

These differences are indicative not only of the shift towards an overtly law enforcement approach to crime reduction but also of the pressure to respond quickly – which partly explains the lack of consultation and the NCCS’s focus on the police.

Adapted from the ISS’s “Crime and Crime Prevention in South Africa: 10 Years After“

Discovery Card advertise a 55 day interest-free period, but what are the details? Hard to find. I’ve been provided with some information which is shared below:

The up to 55 day interest free period

When you pay the full outstanding amount on your DiscoveryCard by the due date, you enter an interest free period, referred to as a 55 day interest free period, since there are a maximum of 55 days that any given transaction can be interest free.

For example:

If you make a purchase on the first day of your billing cycle, the statement will close 30 days later following which you have 25 days to your due date. If you pay the full outstanding balance on the due date, then you have enjoyed interest free credit for 55 days for that purchase.

If you make a purchase on the day your statement closes, then you have 25 days to your due date. If you pay the full outstanding balance on the due date, then you have enjoyed interest free credit for 25 days for that purchase.

To be in a 55 day interest free period, and therefore for interest not to be charged to your account, payment must be received for the full closing balance of the statement, before the due date.

We confirm that you need to settle the full outstanding amount on your account in order to enjoy the up to 55 days interest free period. This will prevent interest being charged on your account unless where applicable such as cash ttransactions.

So as examples:
If I buy something on 20 of January, I have just under a month until the next statement, then I have about 25 days to pay the money back without incurring interest.

However, if I buy something on 15 January, I the statement close in the next couple of days and I have about 25 days to pay the money back without incurring interest.

Certain transactions attract interest immediately

Interest will be charged immediately from the transaction date for the following transactions, unless there is a sufficient credit balance in your account to settle the transaction amount:

• Cash withdrawals with the credit card
• Travelers’ cheque purchases with the credit card and certain FOREX transaction
• Electronic funds transfers which result in a debit balance on your account
• All budget facility transactions and balance transfers
• Fuel or fuel-related transactions on the DiscoveryMotor card
• Transfers from the straight facility to the Medical Saving Booster.

Interest rates

Your account was opened in 2005 under the Usury Act. The interest rates applicable to your account [were] effective 26 November 2010. This is as a result of the National Credit Act.

The ANC attempted to bribe DA councillors in the Western Cape to move to the ANC. Cllr Thobile Dyonta was approached with an offer of 2 month’s salary to resign his seat in Breede Valley. Thobile met with ANC provincial leader Marius Fransman who tried to persuade him to give up his seat to the ANC. In Bitou, Cllr Nevelle de Waal was approached 6 times, offered a bribe of R900000 in cash, and any position he wanted.

Download the “Project Reclaim” Dossier here.

See the DA press release and the Politics Web coverage.

Dear Editor

Firstly, to the resident who SMS’d last week about the derelict house in Somerset Ave, the formal processes for remedy have been exhausted and the issue has now been handed over to the enforcement team for action to be taken against the property owner. Unfortunately these things do take time but you can rest assured that in the background the cogs are moving.

To the land owners in Essex and Enfield roads who are working to clean up their derelict buildings, thank you very much for doing your bit to rid this community of grime and contribute to our efforts to combat crime. With the support of eThekwini officials we are also following up on other derelict houses including those in Evans Rd, Davenport Ave, Macdonald Rd and Bartle Rd.

You might ask what it is that you can do as a member of this community, or any other for that matter, to contribute to cleaning up and improving safety? In short, you can help in one of two areas: crime and grime. Combating crime is only effective when the community partners with SAPS, and getting involved with the Community Policing Forum is the most effective way of achieving that. Neighbourhood watches which work in conjunction with the CPF are another. Ridding our community of grime makes criminals feel less at home, and when we feel safer to be out and about in our numbers, we reduce the spaces in which criminals operate. We do this by maintaining our buildings, keeping vacant plots and bushes under control, cleaning our parks, and ensuring our public infrastructure is in a good state of repair.

You can help by taking initiative where you see a problem to either mobilise community members and tackle the problem ourselves or to work with public officials to find a solution. We have much to do in both combating crime and ridding our community of grime but a collective desire to improve will ensure we see the change we need. Inch by inch, with the support of community members, we will make Umbilo and Glenwood among the safest and most friendly places to live in eThekwini.

Warwick Chapman, Ward Councillor for Glenwood and Umbilo

The eThekwini Municipality is simply not doing enough to stem asset losses due to cable theft. As I have explained before to this council, Cape Town has managed, through a well-resourced metals theft combating unit, strict enforcement, and now this initiative to reduce asset losses due to cable theft to a fraction of what it used to be.

There is no reason whatsoever why we should not be reproducing these successes in eThekwini. We are simply not interested in taking this issue seriously enough to muster the political will required to take the measures which have been shown to work in other parts of the country.

This proposal is quite simple. Given the extent of cable theft in our Metro, it is many orders more cost-effective to leave lights in certain high-theft areas on 24 hours to lower the risk of theft, than it is to replace that length of cable.

We can no longer sit back and do nothing about this economic growth sapping crime. I urge you to support this and any other initiatives which seek to reduce cable theft.