Criminals are people known in most communities, but we do nothing about it

The images and reports are on fire regarding the killings that have recently taken our country by storm.

We continue to watch as the country finds new lows almost daily.

Children dying in taverns and now gunmen attack taverns and lives are lost.

A section of the population is baying for blood, claiming that the only way to resolve this is that once the perpetrators are found, they must be handed over to their respective communities.

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I disagree with this as I believe they should face the full might of the law.

It’s easy for everyone to come out in the confrontation of the criminals, but where was this choir as the criminals were flourishing in their activities?

The criminals are people known in most communities. We all know who they are and what they do.

Word on the street and the neighbourhood grapevine can give insight on which street corner the criminal might be hiding.

But, sadly, this word on the street seems to have been very inefficient when Stevovo was selling Gucci cologne for R100, even though we can all clearly see the price sticker, still stuck on the product for R799.

But we all creep out the woodwork to serve mob justice?

While there may be many reasons why the criminal elements flourish in communities, one of them is that we know the perpetrators, they are our friends, we know them on a first name basis – but we say and do nothing about it.

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We then jump up and down protesting that the police do nothing, but what is it that we are doing as responsible and concerned citizens?

We have to be capable of doing more than just pressing the share button on social media.

I’m not saying that we should all become deputies to Police Minister Bheki Cele.

But I just have a desire to understand where the nerve and the bravery comes from to descend on police stations screaming blue murder when we have given these very criminals the space and comfort to operate in our communities.

Of course, we are not all going to stop crime but, by omission, we are allowing it to flourish.