No respect for law in SA ‘mayhem’

The Editorial Comment in The Herald of August 26, “Mob justice reflects the extent of the disconnect”, is a sad confirmation of the poor state of our police force.

The increase in vigilante action should not be our only concern.

It seems SA is in a state of mayhem where law and order are no longer respected by the majority.

We cannot continue to use poverty, a disadvantaged background or apartheid as an excuse for the current wave of unbridled greed and arrogant disrespect of the law.

Violent demonstrations take place almost daily where buildings and infrastructure are destroyed.

In Kwazulu-Natal open warfare between various factions of the ANC result in murderous attacks on one another.

Belligerent taxi owners resort to murder and mayhem to settle competitive issues.

Gang warfare continues unabated while the military is required to assist the police maintain a presence in the Western Cape.

Our under-resourced and badly managed police force is a shadow of what is required, having been emasculated over the years by incompetent police ministers.

After 25 years, the ANC has yet to show it knows what it is doing. Can we continue to trust them? Its record at national and local government level has been dismal.

No matter what the president [Cyril Ramaphosa] would have us believe, there is no evidence to suggest any improvement is likely in the short term.

We do not need another situation like Marikana to test the resolve of our police, nor a situation where criminals have more rights than their unfortunate victims.

We need to empower the police, introduce a policy of zero tolerance, reform the justice system, build bigger and more secure prisons, and introduce the death penalty for crimes such as armed robbery, murder and rape.

We need action and not more glib talk of another turnaround strategy.

DE Aldendorff , Port Elizabeth

Gang warfare continues unabated while the military is required to assist