World Cup scoring on crime?

The South African crime picture remains a worrying albeit confusing one, with mixed signals the order of the day since the start of the Fifa Soccer World Cup. Authorities claim that the presence and quick actions of some 55 000 additional police officers put on the streets for the tournament have forced crime levels down, with some foreign and local media reports reflecting a similar sentiment. However, crime stories continue making headlines in negative ways, particularly in relation to the World Cup.

Then, just as the picture appeared to be getting a little more positive, along came thieves to steal sleepers from under a railway line outside Pretoria, causing the locomotive of a private train carrying hundreds of passengers to derail on Sunday, immediately again focusing attention on South Africa’s crime problem.

Fortunately, none of the 627 passengers was injured, and this time there were no foreign tourists on the train – which no doubt would have caused greater international media attention against the World Cup backdrop.

The South African crime story, in whichever format, nonetheless remains a big one in the international media. On Sunday, The New York Times ran a story that commented on the effectiveness but also the harshness of sentences of 56 special courts set up to deal with World Cup-related crimes. The article made a fuss about a 22-year-old man being sent to jail for five years after stealing a cellphone from a soccer tourist, after the magistrate reminded the culprit of the negative publicity that South Africa was receiving internationally due to crime.

Crackdown

The newspaper stated that the crackdown shows how far South Africa is prepared to go to accommodate Fifa and its commercial partners, but that not everyone was upset about the harsh sentences and that some South Africans said they were pleased with the crackdown.

One South African who is indeed pleased with the results of the crackdown is Police Commissioner Beke Cele, who said that "anyone and everyone" trying to hijack the World Cup event would fail. Quoted in the Sunday Independent this weekend, General Cele said that local and international organised crime syndicates would be forced to change their view of South Africa as a crime paradise.

"Many think we are lawless, they think we're a banana republic and they think they will get away. But they must think again. The crux of the matter is that South Africa is working. The rule of law is working," he added.

But others are as critical as The New York Times of the way in which the South African police and Fifa are handling crime and security.

Fifa own goals

Paul Kelso, chief sports reporter of The Telegraph, writes that “the decision to ban England fan Pavlos Joseph and his family from World Cup matches, following his impromptu visit to the England dressing room in Cape Town on Friday night, is another own goal by Fifa and the South African authorities”.

He adds: “The authorities here have already dragged two Dutch women through the courts for the crime of orchestrating a harmless marketing stunt, and now they are pursuing an England fan for the gross offence of needing a pee.

“It is further evidence of the draconian, joyless approach being adopted by local authorities, who seem more concerned with enforcing the letter of Fifa’s requirements for the tournament rather than embracing the spirit of what should be a party.

"Joseph’s search for a toilet inadvertently led him to the England dressing room where, by his own hilarious account, he offered some mild words of admonishment to David Beckham and the rest of the squad. He was then led away by Fifa official Mark Linden, who showed him to the loo and then sent him on his way," continues Kelso.

"Given that Joseph neither sought a confrontation or displayed any aggression, a fact confirmed by Beckham, Linden’s approach seems to have been entirely proportionate.”

Change in headlines

Just days before the start of the World Cup, German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported that South Africa is a country “burdened by its reputation of being the murder capital of the world – according to one oft-cited statistic, there are 50 homicides per day in the country”.

It quoted Horst R. Schmidt, a German adviser to the World Cup organisers, as saying that seeing the monthly South African crime statistics made him get “the feeling that crime is everywhere and that it's a dangerous place to go to”.

But this weekend, United Kingdom newspaper The Guardian commented, among other newspapers, on the fall in the crime rate and the fact that there have been no crime horror stories so far.

Last week, TimesLIVE reported that police “have been given the thumbs-up by security analysts who say that crime around the country has been reduced thanks to strengthened policing for the World Cup”.

Will it last?

According to General Cele, 25 cases have already been brought to the 56 special World Cup courts since the event began on 11 June. At present, unprecedented police visibility is evident everywhere in South Africa, even in the parking basements of shopping centres.

But there is concern about what will happen once the tournament is over. Police authorities, however, have tried to dismiss these concerns, saying that the 55 000 additional officers trained and put on the streets will remain after the event as part of the legacy programme for the World Cup, and that the public can look forward to feeling safe for a very long time thereafter.

While perceptions seem to have mellowed somewhat, crime remains a serious national problem for South Africa, and it is still far too early to say with any certainty that the special measures put in place for the World Cup will leave a lasting positive effect on the crime situation.