Crime pandemic is a crisis of underdevelopment

LAST Monday the Western Cape's Provincial Commissioner advocate Patekile released the crime report for the fourth quarter of 2024/25 following the national public release of the national crime report. Despite the reality that in the Western Cape, the levels of crime are a reflection of the crisis of chronic underdevelopment, the efforts of the police should be commended given some degree of reduction in certain categories of crime such as the murder rate.

- BENSON NGQENTSU

However, in an attempt to appease international capitalist market forces, some sections of the bourgeoisie media characterised the crime reduction as significant. It is evident that the bourgeois media has once again spun a deceptive tale, one that serves the interests of international capitalist market forces while ignoring the brutal reality working-class communities endure daily.

They package crime stats as “progress”, when in fact, the lived experience of the working class tells a far more painful story. Violence, poverty, and lawlessness are still entrenched in Black working-class communities, and they are no coincidence as Rupert also admitted, suggesting that the DA-run Western Cape is a crime-ridden province.