Please see headline in context

James Andersen, George:

It seems that a few folk were upset by the "Mugger's Paradise" headline a few weeks ago in George Herald, in reference to recent attacks in the Witfontein / Arbour Road forest. A few points to mention: Firstly, that was a newspaper headline, not a legal document. Headlines use hyperbole and word-plays, and that headline was just a word-play on the song Gangster's Paradise from a few years ago. Who would take it literally? Secondly, there have been a number of nasty attacks in that area, some mentioned in the original article. The idea that "…I walk there every day and I've never been mugged" - well, good for you, but that doesn't change the fact that many other people have been attacked and robbed there, and media attention and warnings are a good thing. Thirdly, that forest IS in fact a mugger's paradise, for a few reasons. Like that it's an easy hiding / getaway place for criminals and there are plenty of isolated, easy targets with expensive toys (smartphones, GPS running watches, bicycles that could be worth six months' salary).

Instead of getting upset about a tonguein-cheek (but still fairly accurate) headline, maybe we should be talking about how to police / secure that area better before something really bad happens? Would I allow my teenage daughter to go running there? No way, and I think that's the whole point. It's not helping to deny that it definitely is a risky place to walk/run/cycle.

(Thank you for your lucid take on the media and the mountain! Ed)