Crime and punishment in South Africa

The podcast investigates the surge in vigilantism in South Africa due to rising crime rates and a perceived lack of effective policing. It contrasts two community patrol groups: one in the impoverished, Black township of Diepsloot, and another comprised of mostly white farmers in a rural area. The podcast highlights the motivations, methods, and dangers faced by these volunteer patrollers, as well as the social and economic factors driving the phenomenon, including personal accounts of crime victims and the perspectives of patrol members. It also addresses the government's response and the complex issues of law enforcement, poverty, and social inequality that contribute to the crisis.