The strategy of war has for many centuries been defined as an art. In 1967 Liddel Hart defined war strategy as '... the art of distributing and applying military means to fulfil the ends of policy'. In 1977 Rejai broadened the definition when he described strategy as: ... all actions, policies, instruments and apparatus necessary to achieve the political goal. It has four main components: leadership, ideology, organisation and the use of violence.
 

Applying the same logic and slightly adapting the above definitions, it can be argued that the fight against crime (or the war on crime) should also be developed as an art. Not only does it then imply that the South African government must have a proper policy in place to deal with crime, but also that it should use all its resources to achieve the ends set by its policy. However, it should be noted that the police and the rest of the criminal justice system (CJS) cannot be regarded as 'all the resources' that the government has to effectively fight against crime.

It is equally obvious that for the fight against crime to be an art, it needs to meet a number of requirements. There needs to be good leadership and effective organisation in place; the leadership must demonstrate the ability to appreciate the complexity of the problem and show a clear understanding of how to address it and they must be able to develop and implement the right strategies and tactics that would ensure success in the fight against crime. More importantly, to pass as an art, those involved in the fight against crime must have the necessary talent, skill, dedication and training that are normally associated with the art.

A few months ago, South Africa's Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development announced government's understanding of the weaknesses of the CJS, and offered a seven-point plan to address these. While this is a welcome development, the danger is that this approach might restrict the focus of the general fight against crime to addressing the weaknesses in the CJS at the expense of other critical aspects of governance. This was identified earlier this year as a problem by a civil society initiative, Action for a Safe South Africa (ASSA), that promotes a vision for a safe and secure South Africa.

It involves dealing with the broader causes of crime (including the breakdown of functional families, alcohol abuse, a dysfunctional education system, limited options for youth and so on). It is important for government to recognise that reducing crime would require a holistic response that includes allocating resources (not only financial) to build a healthy society.

Against this background, the apparent shift in the ANC's thinking about how to address crime is cause for concern. Instead of promoting the development of a fine art, the organisation seems to be moving towards an approach where reactive brute force would replace the rule of law.

This trend started earlier this year with the controversial call by Susan Shabangu, Deputy Minister of Safety and Security, for the police to "shoot to kill". Although Section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act provides for police officers to shoot suspects under certain conditions, her statements created the impression that her word is more powerful than the law and that the conditions circumscribing the rights to shoot to kill are irrelevant in practice.

Not long after that, Bheki Cele, MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison in KwaZulu-Natal echoed the same sentiments. By saying that communities should neither be lenient with criminals nor kill them, ANC president Jacob Zuma also creates a dangerous state of confusion. He further suggested that communities should take "these criminals to police stations" and cautioned the police not to ask too many questions. This could be interpreted as an invitation for communities to act in a vigilante manner. It is thus not surprising that some ask whether this does not amount to the condoning of anarchy? 

 Since the Minister of Safety and Security, Mr Nathi Mthethwa, has also called on police to 'fight fire with fire,' it would appear that this approach to crime is a reflection of the general views of the new ANC leadership.

Yet, to overcome the scourge of crime it would be far more important to focus on systematically addressing the social causes of crime and the shortcomings of the criminal justice system than spending valuable resources on revising laws that are based on established international human rights and legal practice. The corrosion of established legal principles, such as the right to remain silent during arrest, suggests that you have lost the ability to apply the laws that exist. It should be stated that the problem is not the rights afforded to criminals, but the ability to uphold the rule of law fairly.

*Dr Johan Burger is a Senior Researcher on the Crime, Justice and Politics Programme ( Institute of Security Studies - Tshwane /Pretoria)