Crime Factors & Levels in South Africa vs. Canada

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Introduction

What is crime? Crime is defined as violation of law and is punishable or anything that goes “against the law” (Nathalie & Bittle, 2004). Crime is caused by economical, political, cultural and social factors. Crime is committed by those in power and with money as by those who are poor. Crime is a global issue. Hence studies on the causes of crime and how to control it. Crime control is also different in various countries. Developed and developing countries have different level of crime and crime control from the developing countries (Barak, 2000).

In this discussion we shall compare two countries Canada and South Africa.

Economical factors of crime in Canada

Many businesses are prone to economical crime in Canada. This has been accelerated by globalization. Most companies have been victims and have lost large amounts of money. In 2005 economic crime rate went up from US$600,000 to US$3.7 million.

Mortgage crime in Canada runs into millions of dollars. This crime is concentrated in the urban of Ontario, British Columbia and other areas like Quebec. Some of these frauds involve millions of dollars. They are committed through the online where the fraudsters are able to steal financial information. With this information and fake documents they acquire online they are able to access loans from financial lending institutions. These crimes are helped by the technological advancement (Mortgage fraud, 2008).

Companies have been told to be ready for search crimes and avoid being reactive in order to reduce the crime. They should do this by taking internal control measures. The companies should use speed and discretion when tackling financial investigations. They should have ways of detecting fraud and reducing its occurrence.

Political factors of crime in Canada

In Canada the politics contribute to crime especially during presidential campaigns. Drug cartels fund the government and because of this relationship the criminals are left on the loose. They continue to push drugs, which in turn leads to crime by the users. This also affects the economy as people are led by fear and thus cannot operate at their optimal leading to less output (Beare & Schneider 2007).

In the case of money laundering the government is slow to act because it is said that laundering does not affect the environment and no direct threats to human beings are involved. Thus the underhand dealings continue and this eventually hurts the economy of the country (Beare & Schneider, 2007).

Social factors of crime in Canada

Canadians with high levels of education have better jobs. We have area where the level of completing or dropping out of school is high. The rate has declined though we still have the underprivileged youths dropping out. When these people drop out of school they are reduce their opportunities for employment considerably. They mostly end up getting involved in crime and most of them end up in jail (Social and economic factors, 2008). Crime is also high in rural areas more women than women are victims of crimes. Children are also abused in Canada in 2003 over 235,000 investigations involved children below 15 years of age (Social and Economical, 2008). Children from violent families are more likely to get involved in criminal behaviour. Most of them commit suicide after becoming independent on substances (Social and Economic factors, 2008).

Some people reported being bullied because of their race, religion and even ethnicity about 25% males and females about 21%.

Youthful males are more associated with crime as the table below shows.

Figure 1. Canadian male population and projections

This trend could be associated with the changing employment patterns. This is unemployment which is becoming a permanent feature. Thus these jobless youths tend to fall into crimes.

With unemployment comes child poverty, rise in crime, families’ breakdown. All these factors tend to lead to crime as the individuals concerned have problems to deal with and they go for the readily available option of crime.

Cultural factors of crime in Canada

Crime is committed more by aboriginals, followed by African Canadians. This implies that culture affects crime rates. What is interesting is that these groups account for 4% and 2% of the Canadian population yet they account for the highest percentages of those found in the correctional system i.e. 14% and 6% respectively (Wortely, 1999).

Men are also more likely to commit crimes than women as studies have shown and this is also true in Canada where we have more men than women in correctional systems. This could be linked to biological factors where men are said to be more aggressive than women and hence more likely to get into crime (Encyclopedia of criminology).

Most Canadians live in homes with portable assets. The parents leave their homes unguarded as they go to work and this encourages burglaries. The youths are a target of robberies as they leave clubs at night as they love the night parties. Drugs though illegal can also be accessed easily and this leads people to crime.

Crime in South Africa

South Africa is one of the countries in the world that is ranked among the countries with the highest crime rates. The murder rate is so high that South Africa has been called the capital of crime. The rate of crime has continued to increase even after the country gained independence and broke away from apartheid. The crime rate is associated with several reasons. By March 2008 the statistics indicated a decline in crime but the figures were still high. 18,487 murders were reported and the ratio for murder was 38.6 for every 100,000 citizens (Nqakula, 2008).

Political factors for crime in South Africa

With the political transition, there has been an increased illegal arms influx into the country. With firearms, more people are getting into crime and thus the rate is on the rise. This has been made possible by the porous borders. Thus arms smugglers can access the country and sell firearms. These small firearms are also sold cheaply thus many people can afford them (Schonteich & Louw, 2001).

The criminal justices system is also blamed for the increase in the rate. This is due to its weakening caused by the abolition of some laws and the making of new ones. The trained people in the justice system are unsure of how to work within the new laws that are based on the constitution. Thus less prosecution is happening and the cases already filed are taking a very long time before they are listened to. The system thus has failed to deter other would-be criminals from involving in crime (Schonteich & Louw, 2001).

Social factors for crime in South Africa

Most South Africans do not have the qualifications to seek employment because for a long time they could not access education. With their reduced opportunities for employment, most of them get into crime to get money to cater to their families. This has led to many immigrants going to South Africa to look for employment. They can get it because they have the necessary qualifications. With this influx of human beings in the country, many are unable to find employment and this results in crime. Consequently, the unemployed South Africans turn on these foreigners violently blaming them for taking their employment opportunities. This explains the recent xenophobic attacks unleashed on foreigners.

There is a culture of violence that got engrained during the apartheid era still has an impact on the crime scene today 90% of the population experienced it. This is because many parents lost control of their children during this era with so many government disruptions with the apartheid policies. Thus the children had no one to guide them and because of witnessing violence, they resulted to it for survival while others did so for revenge (Dixon, 2004).

Cultural factors for crime in South Africa

South Africa has a youthful population. This leads to crime because according to statistics the male youths have a higher chance of falling into crime than older men and women.

South Africa has had to deal with the issue of rapid urbanization. With this more people have been shifting from rural areas to urban centers. With this concentration of people, crime has been able to thrive very well. This is a result of overcrowding and lack of employment. The cost of living is high in towns and they result in crime to be able to survive. This is also made easier by the availability of illegal firearms (Dixon, 2004).

With the violence unleashed on the blacks during the apartheid, many of the youths were forced to get involved in the war to protect their communities. Thus they distrusted the authorities that were unleashing this kind of violence on them. These youths still have a problem respecting the law of the government in place now long after the apartheid. With so much exposure to violence most South Africans solve their problems however small violently in whatever environment they are in (Schonteich & Louw, 2001).

Analysis

Crimes committed in Canada and South Africa are motivated by both similar and different reasons. Unemployment is one of the common factors for crime in both countries. This is because when people are unable to meet their needs they are more likely to result in a crime.

The justice system in both countries is different.Canada has a strong system unlike the one in South Africa that is still coming to terms with the new changes. Due to this would-be offenders in Canada are deterred from getting into crime while the opposite is in South Africa where you have a weak justice system. The system is still a long way to go before it can function at an optimal to address the cases pending in the courts. Hence more people continue getting into crime because they do not see the government doing enough. The people also do not have faith in the justice system and this would explain the number of unreported crimes or even willing witnesses (Ebbe, 1996).

Canada has a strict gun policy and this makes the community safer. This ensures that guns do not fall into wrong hands. Without guns circulating freely less crime happens (Fogman 2008). On the other hand, guns are readily available in South Africa and they are sold cheaply. Hence you have more guns in the wrong hands that are easily misused.

Canada encourages multiculturalism. Hence people from diverse backgrounds are accommodated. With this spirit, people can coexist in peace. This is also promoted by the fact that Canada has a very stable economy. It is easy to find employment and thus no reason to engage in crime (Fogman, 2008). In South Africa, we have xenophobic attacks.

The differences in the social, political, cultural, and economic factors contribute to having high levels of crime in South Africa and low crime levels in Canada. All countries should deal with crime proactively and aim to reduce or prevent crime as this will be less costly. Crime and crime control remain a global challenge.

Works cited

Barak G 2000 Crime and Crime Control: A global View. West Port CT: Green Wood Press.
Barak G 2000 Comparative Criminology The Criminal Criminologist Journal, Vol 10 No.2
Beare E M , Schneider S 2007 Money Laundering in Canada: Chasing dirty and dangerous dollars, University of Toronto Press: Ontario.
Dixon B 2004 Justice Gained? Crime and Crime Control in South Africa’s Transition: Juta &Company
Ebbe O (ed) 1996. Comparative and International Criminal Justice Systems: Policing, Judiciary and Corrections. Boston: Heinemann Emigrating to Canada.
Encyclopedia of Criminology three-volume set.
Fogman M 2008 Top 10 Reasons to Live in Canada. 2009.
Health Behaviours: Social and Economic Factors.
Mortgage Fraud & Organized Crime in Canada.
Nathalie D Bittle R. What is a crime? Web.
Schonteich M, Louw 2001 A crime and Justice Programme, Occasional Paper No 49 Institute for Security Studies. Web.
Wortley S A National Taboo: Research on Race Crime, and Criminal Justice in Canada. Canadian Journal of Criminology, Vol 41 1999

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