South African police have not established a link between the deaths of nine women — Daily Maverick
In South Africa, police have not yet established whether the deaths of nine women, whose bodies have been found in Ekurhuleni since mid-July, are connected. At the time the Daily Maverick column was written, the first body had been discovered near the R21 highway in Kempton Park, and the ninth two months later in Dawn Park. Police have also not established whether these deaths may be linked to one person or several individuals.
Shooting in Philippi
Six boys were injured in a shooting in the Marcus Garvey area of Philippi, with two of them — teenagers — killed. It was the second mass shooting involving young people in this community since July. In the previous shooting, four people aged 17 to 20 were killed.
The columnist writes that after such crimes, authorities usually create special teams, make visits, promise a lockdown, announce a reward for information, and assure the public that those responsible will be punished to the full extent of the law. At the same time, the article raises the question of what preventive measures could have been taken before further attacks and deaths.
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Criticism of post-crime responses
The column compares the state's response to violence to corporal punishment at school, which comes only after harm has been done. The author stresses the importance of prevention: visible patrols, staffed police stations, functioning courts, enforcement of protection orders, and proper case investigations.
The text mentions delays in investigations, postponed court hearings, and excessive workloads for detectives. The author states that police identify and arrest a suspect in fewer than one in ten murders, and that deterring crime depends more on the likelihood of being arrested than on the severity of punishment.
In the author's view, when the state responds mainly with punishment after a crime, it may contribute to vigilantism. The column mentions a crowd that gathered in Refilwe after a boy's death on Spring Day, as well as WhatsApp groups that turn into informal tribunals.
