Making Criminals Pay

AGAIN this week, violent crime has hit the headlines with the appearance in court of a self-confessed rapist and murderer, whose brutal killing of a six-year-old girl sent shockwaves through society when it happened at the coastal town of Swakopmund last year.

The horror of this deed is being relived by all as the case of the accused proceeded in the High Court in Windhoek this week. This, and several other incidents of rape and violent crime that have been reported in the last week, again highlight the need for Namibian society to deal more effectively with this scourge.Eventually a point will be reached when Namibia’s prisons will be ? lled to the brim, and yet the violence will continue unabated.So what is this country to do about the crimes and the criminals? One of our readers referred us to a recent suggestion by the President of the South African Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights (Sapohr), Golden Miles Bhudu, who has called for the setting up of a trust fund for families and victims of the spiralling crime that is likewise sweeping through this neighbouring country.Bhudu suggested that the trust should be funded from money that could be made from what he called the ‘industrialisation’ of the country’s prisons, which could be turned into ‘economically viable entities’.Addressing a conference on Correctional Services Release Policy in Durban, South Africa, Bhudu added that the majority of criminals were not disabled, yet were left to stay as ‘dead wood’ in South African prisons.His organisation therefore advocated ‘industrialisation’ of prisons as part of attempts to ensure that while inmates paid their debt to society, prisons could become money-generating structures.He called on the business sector to invest in rehabilitation and the reintegration of inmates by means of partnerships between correctional services and civil society, in order to educate, train and impart skills to prisoners.He claimed this would eradicate crime at the same time as create employment opportunities.Those inmates who were skilled at certain trades, he added, should then be allowed to work, earn a minimum wage, and out of this, pay taxes and contribute to a family and victims’ trust.Although the SA Department of Corrections has apparently rejected this idea, it shows that there is at least some creative thinking on the subject of crime, criminals and, perhaps more importantly, the victims.The six-year-old victim of the rapist currently in court in Windhoek cannot of course bene? t in any way, even if we had such a system in place, for she has lost her life as the result of this most outrageous and horri? c crime.However, there is some merit in the suggestion that prisoners should be made to work, and the payment that would accrue could go to a fund for, in particular, the youthful victims of rape and violent crime.What is needed above all else is a radical change in the mindset of our society, at whatever level, which tolerates this kind of perversion in its midst.It is trite to say that prevention is better than cure, but it is also true to say that these inhuman incidents should not have a place in Namibia and if they do happen, the perpetrators must be dealt with decisively and in a way that will deter others from horrendous crimes such as these.This, and several other incidents of rape and violent crime that have been reported in the last week, again highlight the need for Namibian society to deal more effectively with this scourge.Eventually a point will be reached when Namibia’s prisons will be ? lled to the brim, and yet the violence will continue unabated.So what is this country to do about the crimes and the criminals? One of our readers referred us to a recent suggestion by the President of the South African Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights (Sapohr), Golden Miles Bhudu, who has called for the setting up of a trust fund for families and victims of the spiralling crime that is likewise sweeping through this neighbouring country.Bhudu suggested that the trust should be funded from money that could be made from what he called the ‘industrialisation’ of the country’s prisons, which could be turned into ‘economically viable entities’.Addressing a conference on Correctional Services Release Policy in Durban, South Africa, Bhudu added that the majority of criminals were not disabled, yet were left to stay as ‘dead wood’ in South African prisons.His organisation therefore advocated ‘industrialisation’ of prisons as part of attempts to ensure that while inmates paid their debt to society, prisons could become money-generating structures.He called on the business sector to invest in rehabilitation and the reintegration of inmates by means of partnerships between correctional services and civil society, in order to educate, train and impart skills to prisoners.He claimed this would eradicate crime at the same time as create employment opportunities.Those inmates who were skilled at certain trades, he added, should then be allowed to work, earn a minimum wage, and out of this, pay taxes and contribute to a family and victims’ trust.Although the SA Department of Corrections has apparently rejected this idea, it shows that there is at least some creative thinking on the subject of crime, criminals and, perhaps more importantly, the victims.The six-year-old victim of the rapist currently in court in Windhoek cannot of course bene? t in any way, even if we had such a system in place, for she has lost her life as the result of this most outrageous and horri? c crime.However, there is some merit in the suggestion that prisoners should be made to work, and the payment that would accrue could go to a fund for, in particular, the youthful victims of rape and violent crime.What is needed above all else is a radical change in the mindset of our society, at whatever level, which tolerates this kind of perversion in its midst.It is trite to say that prevention is better than cure, but it is also true to say that these inhuman incidents should not have a place in Namibia and if they do happen, the perpetrators must be dealt with decisively and in a way that will deter others from horrendous crimes such as these.