When was the last time you had to endure the indignity of going to the cop shop? The endless queues, the indifferent and uncaring officers, holding back your temper because illiteracy is a real issue for some of our men and women in blue.
I had the misfortune of having to report what is technically a hit-and-run a while ago. Admittedly, it was more a bump and dash in morning rush-hour traffic.
It’s still illegal to drive into someone else’s car and then zoom off into the traffic. And goodness only knows what damage had been done to struts, which was being masked by the bumper.
So, I dragged little one off to the cop shop one Thursday afternoon and waited (im)patiently to fill in a docket. Cop shops are NOT kid-friendly.
Most of the police I’ve encountered are also not people-friendly. The constable seemed incredulous that I would want to open a docket for something so minor, and acted almost as if he was mollifying me.
I’m sure you can guess what happened to that case, even though I furnished the officer with the registration number of the guilty party: absolutely nada. My case number was SMSed to me, and that was that.
But, hang on, you say. The police have far more serious crimes to deal with than someone who doesn’t have depth of vision.
Crimes like rape, murder and robbery.
Yes, they do. And, yes, they are woefully understaffed and in serious need of more training, and a bit of a pep talk so they take their mantra of “to serve and protect” seriously.
I’m still waiting for feedback on a case that dates back to 2006, when I was held up at gunpoint times three and my car liberated from me.
I’m quite sure I’m not alone in feeling that the police service is letting down the vast majority of those who have the guts to step through its doors.
A burdensome workload
The police force in SA is incredibly burdened. And I suspect much of the time they should be detecting is taken up with administration and red tape.
They are also under pressure to close cases and bring down the level of crime.
This may go some way towards explaining why bad bungles and fabrications happen, as was the case when Fred van der Vyver was exonerated for the murder of his then-girlfriend Inge Lotz.
It doesn’t excuse such behaviour, but perhaps does explain some of why our men and women in blue are not high on the list of South Africans’ favourite people.
So, if we all know this is the case, why are we adding to this burden and potentially denting the economy as well?
Which is exactly what we are at risk of doing thanks to Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s plan to ban smoking in public places.
In October last year, the minister said: “We are going to ban total smoking in public areas. At the moment, we have put a corner in restaurants and a corner at the airport. We have also, stupidly, even put a corner at the hospital.”
Okay, so smoking areas at hospitals is self-defeating.
But what this plan will mean is that you can no longer go for a pint in your local pub and enjoy a cigarette, cigar or pipe along with it.
You won’t be able to step outside on the curb to have a smoke either. You won’t have a designated balcony where you can puff away.
Also read: Anti-smoking backlash
Frankly, you may as well not grab that Friday beer with your mates and just go home - you can smoke in your garden, and drink your beer.
And what happens to the pub? Have you ever been to a totally non-smoking pub where there is no designated smoking area? I doubt such a beast even exists. They will all simply close down.
Yes, we need non-smoking areas, and we need to protect our little ones from the ravages of smoking, that’s not in dispute here. (Although, who takes a kid to a pub and then sits in the smoking area anyway?) We also need common sense.
This country cannot be a nanny state, like Australia, because we can’t even enforce the laws we already have - seatbelts on children much?
So let’s be sensible and allow people the freedom to pollute their lungs without harming others, and save small businesses at the same time.
Small business is where jobs will be created, the jobs that can grow this economy beyond the pitiful 0.7 percent predicted for this year. We should be supporting them, not hindering them.
* Nicola Mawson is the online editor of Business Report. Follow her on Twitter @NicolaMawson or Business Report @busrep.
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