Handcuffs mirror error of our ways

South Africa’s courts and police are working overtime, and lately news of arrests has become our daily dose of wins.

When crimes are committed, we demand justice; when apprehensions finally happen, even if slower than we would like, our faith in the system slowly begins to be restored.

This week alone, massive arrests have been made and, yes, they do not go unnoticed.

Reminder that the system works

For a country that has often felt as though criminals were one step ahead of the law, every arrest offers a momentary reminder that the system can still catch up.

We celebrate the handcuffs, the arrests and the prospect of accountability. But perhaps we should also be asking ourselves why there are so many people to arrest.

There is something deeply unsettling about a country where thousands must be arrested in a single week for us to feel that law enforcement is making progress.

Over 17 000 arrests made

Between 14 and 20 September, SA Police Service (Saps) reported 17 270 arrests nationwide for offences ranging from murder and robbery to illegal firearms, drug trafficking and damage to infrastructure.

In Gauteng alone, more than 900 suspects were arrested in one weekend under Operation Shanela, including suspects linked to contact crimes and offences against women and children.

These figures show policing activity, but they should also force us to confront a more uncomfortable reality: our social fabric coming apart.

We often speak about crime as though it exists outside our communities, committed by faceless strangers.

Criminals live within society

Yet the sheer scale of arrests tells another story. These are people living among us, travelling our roads, entering our homes and participating in our communities.

Some steal from neighbours, assault people they know, carry illegal firearms, prey on women and children. We cannot build a healthy society while treating criminality as somebody else’s problem.

This is where the conversation becomes uncomfortable.

Is trust repairable?

Arrests are vital. But when thousands are arrested, we must ask: what is happening?

The police have a responsibility to enforce the law, and government must ensure they have the resources to do so. But social cohesion cannot be outsourced to Saps.

A community that discovers its collective conscience only when police arrive has lost something fundamental. Arrests may remove offenders, but they cannot repair the trust, values and responsibility that hold communities together.