South Africa’s worst crime can plummet if the country takes action
South Africa can learn from El Salvador, which changed from the “murder capital of the world” to having one of the lowest murder rates globally.
South Africa’s crime statistics revealed that the country continued to battle an incredibly high murder rate, with around 70 murders a day.
The data showed that 6,536 people were murdered between January and March 2024, and 6,198 were murdered between April and June 2024.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu added that over 9,000 people lost their lives to mass shootings between 2019 and 2024.
He told parliament that “multiple murder incidents” become increasingly prevalent across the country.
South Africans have grown accustomed to these high crime rates and consider it part of living in the country. However, it does not have to be that way.
El Salvador president Nayib Bukele showed that decisive action can significantly reduce crime and murder rates.
El Salvador had one of the highest homicide rates in the world and was even named the “murder capital of the world”.
In 2015, the murder rate peaked at 107 homicides per 100,000. The two most prominent gangs, MS-13 and Barrio 18, were officially designated as terrorist organisations.
Bukele was elected on the promise of strengthening the country’s economy and ridding El Salvador of the grip of criminal gangs.
He implemented a multi-stage plan to eliminate murderous gangs and bring the country’s murder rate down.
- He deployed the military in metropolitan areas to disrupt the flow of gang finances. They targeted extortion hotspots, locked prison visitations down and blocked cellphone services around prisons.
- He improved healthcare, promoted education and scholarships, and built schools and sports centres to deter young Salvadorans from joining gangs.
- He modernised security forces with newer weapons, vehicles, and other equipment and better training to gain an advantage over criminals.
- Security forces directly entered territories with strong gang influence and presence to disrupt gang operations and increase gang member arrests directly.
A turning point in the country occurred over a weekend in March 2022 when coordinated gang violence led to the death of 87 people.
Bukele’s government declared a state of emergency that suspended many constitutional rights, enabling the government to execute mass arrests of suspected gang members.
In November 2022, 20,000 security force personnel surrounded the country’s largest cities and patrolled the streets to capture gang members hiding within communities.
The new government constructed a new prison with a capacity of 40,000 to house the gang members who were arrested.
The last phase was launching paid internships and getting older citizens back into the workforce to share their experiences with younger workers.
This initiative helped to bolster El Salvador’s economy and create a more productive business environment.
The results were striking. Since 2019, El Salvador has arrested around 84,000 gang members and brought its murder rate down to only 2.4 murders per 100,000.
The chart below shows a comparison of the murder rate between South Africa and El Salvador over the last decade.
Read: 70 people murdered every day in South Africa – these are the deadliest areas
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