Thread: Talking about crime in Namibia

You raise an interesting point. BUt do we really think that forced labour is the solution?

It is patently obvious that the threat of a prison sentence is not a deterrent anymore. Criminals know they would first have to get caught and convicted, and anyone who does get caught is not unlikely to reoffend with the current system. So, yes - there are inherent problems with the current judicial and penal systems.

The need for a punishment to act as a deterrent to potential offenders must - I agree - be emphasised. So the basic requirement has to be that a punishment must be something which such an individual will fear enough to prevent from carrying out the discouraged action.

A punishment must also be a definite one – giving a convicted criminal a suspended sentence helps no-one but the criminal themselves; such a non-sentence may act as a deterrent for that particular criminal in future, but the fact that it only applies once the crime has been committed renders the deterrent pointless. This also fails to deter other potential criminals, as it allows them to witness criminals not serving any punishment for the crimes which they have committed.

But would forced labour really be a true deterrant, one which overcomes the problems of the prison system? I'm not sure the prospect of hard labour would instil far more fear than the prospect of a prison sentence, and would therefore be a more effective deterrent. The same applies to the death penalty?

Well, i am not carrying much knowledge on criminal procedures, the judicial system and/or the law enforcement arms of our country.

Both the views I read here are touching on really important aspects, and for both of the them a coin has always two sides. I would particularly like to comment on why it may be the case that crime no longer carries the 'stench of shame'....reasons may vary, however if one looks at the Namibian situation, what is viewed as crime seemingly depends on what depth the criminal's pocket has.

Law enforcement reacts/approcahes the various criminals of our society in relation to what status they hold. We have a lot of criminals in the upper echolons of society, however whether or not to arrest such person(s) seemingly depends on their position/race/status in society and monetary value in terms of compensation in the event of a penalty leverage against them when found guilty.

Furthermore, it seems if an x-person stole a cow due to favoritism and elitism creating an ever increasing masses going hungry and poor, the penalty seem to be more serious than the one of a y-person raped/violated and killed a minor in the process. We have on numorous occassion seen such offenders being thrown back to society based on varied reasons such as lack of evidence for instance. Our society for instance seem to be more worried about such offenders human rights than the very rights they infringed of the victims.

The point is justice in Namibia became an issue of whether you are rich or poor, or which part of the society one belongs to, the majority or the minority, be it from a political or socio-economic stance. This promotes criminal behaviour on the part of those who not only think they can get away with it, but know they can...