Anyone reading some news in SA this week would be forgiven for thinking it is part of a belated or all-month-long April Fool’s joke.
Because, let’s face it, some of it has been laugh-out-loud funny because it is so unbelievable, even bordering on fake news were it not published by reputable news outlets.
In particular two incidents come to mind this week: the arrest of suspects believed to be part of a weave-snatching gang and the situation at the New Brighton police station in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Earlier this week, we read that three men had been arrested for allegedly stealing weaves off women’s heads in the Durban city centre.
The men are believed to be part of a criminal syndicate operating at taxi ranks in the CBD.
Ensure Security spokesperson Kyle van Reenen said the men had been apprehended in two incidents.
“A man was chased and apprehended after robbing a female commuter of her weave and attempting to flee,” he said.
“In a second incident, two men were apprehended for similar incidents of robbery from persons.
“The men have allegedly been confronting female commuters in busy taxi ranks in the central business district, robbing them of their artificial hair pieces before fleeing.”
Then The Herald reported on Thursday that police appeared to be so fearful of criminals in their own precinct that a decision had been made to weld all windows shut at the admin block of the New Brighton police station.
The decision comes after a series of burglaries at the station, including the most recent in which a new computer, which had not yet been connected, was allegedly stolen.
So here we are: even the hair on women’s heads is not safe and even the police do not feel safe in their workplace.
If police do not feel safe in police stations, how are we to feel safe in our homes, workplaces and out in public?
It is a situation so utterly absurd, we cannot help but laugh.
And while laughter is a natural and often healthy response to stress, using it to downplay or dismiss crime can have harmful consequences.
It risks normalising illegal behaviour, marginalising victims and weakening public resolve to tackle serious social issues.
So while we laugh, let us never forget that behind these crimes there are victims.
And behind the jokes, there is a crime problem so out of control that even the police would rather lock themselves inside police stations.
Where will it all end?
The Herald
Crime is not really a laughing matter
None
Image: Ensure Security
Anyone reading some news in SA this week would be forgiven for thinking it is part of a belated or all-month-long April Fool’s joke.
Because, let’s face it, some of it has been laugh-out-loud funny because it is so unbelievable, even bordering on fake news were it not published by reputable news outlets.
In particular two incidents come to mind this week: the arrest of suspects believed to be part of a weave-snatching gang and the situation at the New Brighton police station in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Earlier this week, we read that three men had been arrested for allegedly stealing weaves off women’s heads in the Durban city centre.
The men are believed to be part of a criminal syndicate operating at taxi ranks in the CBD.
Ensure Security spokesperson Kyle van Reenen said the men had been apprehended in two incidents.
“A man was chased and apprehended after robbing a female commuter of her weave and attempting to flee,” he said.
“In a second incident, two men were apprehended for similar incidents of robbery from persons.
“The men have allegedly been confronting female commuters in busy taxi ranks in the central business district, robbing them of their artificial hair pieces before fleeing.”
Then The Herald reported on Thursday that police appeared to be so fearful of criminals in their own precinct that a decision had been made to weld all windows shut at the admin block of the New Brighton police station.
The decision comes after a series of burglaries at the station, including the most recent in which a new computer, which had not yet been connected, was allegedly stolen.
So here we are: even the hair on women’s heads is not safe and even the police do not feel safe in their workplace.
If police do not feel safe in police stations, how are we to feel safe in our homes, workplaces and out in public?
It is a situation so utterly absurd, we cannot help but laugh.
And while laughter is a natural and often healthy response to stress, using it to downplay or dismiss crime can have harmful consequences.
It risks normalising illegal behaviour, marginalising victims and weakening public resolve to tackle serious social issues.
So while we laugh, let us never forget that behind these crimes there are victims.
And behind the jokes, there is a crime problem so out of control that even the police would rather lock themselves inside police stations.
Where will it all end?
The Herald
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