This Tuesday, Special Assignment looks at the global problem of alcohol abuse and specifically how it affects the crime rate in South Africa .
According to the World Health Organization, we have the dubious distinction of having one of the highest levels of alcohol consumption per drinker in the world. We also have one of the highest crime rates in the world and one of the highest road accidents rates in the world. The connections cannot be ignored.
The title of the program, “Drink to Get Drunk” originates from a WHO report that shows South Africa to be one of the countries in the world that exhibits hazardous patterns of drinking. This is evident in the large number of people who drink first thing in the morning, drink without eating and drink simply to get drunk.
Our investigation takes place in the Eastern Cape , where alcohol is the most commonly abused substance. We visit the trauma unit of Port Elizabeth’s Livingstone Hospital. Research conducted here 8 years ago showed that most patients had used alcohol prior to being admitted for injuries. Not much seems to have changed. We came across Elton Basterman who had been stabbed in the stomach by his clearly intoxicated wife, Yolanda, who was bleeding from a head wound. They’d fought over a box of wine. Mary-Jane Christians was stabbed in the back, allegedly by her inebriated ex-husband. Roger Smith, his skull fractured by a group of drunk men. Johan de Jager was stabbed in a tavern by a man whom he’d asked to buy a bottle of brandy.
“Friday and Saturday nights are overwhelming”, says Livingstone Hospital’s Dr Trevor Witbooi. “Most of the cases that come in here are alcohol-related. Either the person was drunk or was assaulted by someone who was drunk.”
Producer Jessica Pitchford and cameraman Byron Taylor accompanied PE police on a raid of clubs and pubs, specifically aimed at cracking down on alcohol abuse and the crime that goes with it. The operation was led by Senior Superintendent Tony Nomdoe, who says at weekends, the abuse of alcohol and drugs is problematic. “It’s definitely getting worse, drinking always leads to other serious crimes. If you look at contact crime, it’s mainly liquor related.”
Our investigation also reveals how easy it is for teenagers to buy booze at a bottle store, no questions asked. Armed with a spy camera, a 16-year-old is served several drinks at a well-known PE pub. At the notorious “Loxion” club in Central, where Special Assignment has in the past bought drugs and even a gun, a 12-year-old girl is found hanging around with much older men and plenty of liquor.
Dr Charles Parry of the Medical Research Council says the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cap e are among the worst provinces: “There’s a strong relationship between alcohol and crimes and I think the reasons for that are poverty, poor law enforcement and weak health and social support systems.”
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