The SAPS this week came out dispelling any fears about what they say are hoax e-mails about shopping mall ‘Changeroom Rape’. The SAPS spokesman said that the e-mail making the rounds was a hoax. What is interesting is that the SAPS are quelling fears but what if this is a future crime? What if this is a clever criminal with a sick desire for limelight that he would send an e-mail describing how he/she would perpetrate such a hinaus crime. This may seem like a story out of a film like Sigourney Weaver’s late 1990s film Copy Cat. This was a story about a criminal who would copy previous crimes and duplicate them as his.

The ‘Changeroom Rape’ hoax is a disturbing issue of what maybe fictitious today maybe a future crime. The question for me is that should we be concerned? I think we should be weary of such things in a country in which rape is so prevalent. Violent crime against women in this country is one of the most important issues for me. Even though the SAPS say this is a hoax, will they be able to handle this so-called ‘near perfect crime’? In light of the high rate of rape and the fact that many are unsolved, I am not confident in the SAPS being able to deal with this. I would rather that the SAPS spokesman have said even though this is a hoax, the public should be vigilant of such crimes actually happening. I do not believe that we should live in a police state in which we are always scared. Or in which we don’t have our individual freedoms but the high crime rate in this country leads me to think that heavy policing at least of dangerous crime maybe the way forward. Zero Tolerance maybe the best remedy for the dealing with crime.

This is obviously a contentious issue because under Apartheid the majority of people in this country lived in a police state. However, the SAPS and the political, social and economic leadership of this country need to take better steps at protecting its citizens. If you have a better idea as compared to Zero Tolarance, please share.

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