Index Crime rate in black American communities Targets young black American males Crime rate in South Africa High number of firearms in South Africa Discrimination and crime Possible solutions Works Cited Black Americans in the United States have faced many unique problems. One of the issues that has prevailed for many years is that of violent crime. In essence, this has not only been a problem in the United States, but has also been a major problem in South Africa. On reflection, criminal violence has been the worst problem the two countries have faced in the last two decades. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The number of firearms available on the American black market was extremely large. It is evident that the rate of gun acquisition among the black American community is the main factor causing the enormous crime rate. In the early part of the 1980s, most of the crimes charged were related to the use of firearms (Bennett and Fraser 94). Surprisingly, 46% of homicides committed during this period were caused by the use of firearms. Instead of addressing the problem, the percentage of these deaths increased to seventy-one. This significantly exceeds the number of homicides reported by whites by 17%. The increase in this number of cases can largely be attributed to the sharp increase in weapons available on the black market in most of South America. Therefore, it is due to poor monitoring of illegal gun sales that the number of murders has increased. Crime Rate in Black American Communities The rate of violence in Black American communities was extremely high. Compared to other countries, the number of cases of violence in the United States among black Americans has been surprisingly higher. For example, it exceeded those of Germany and France by twenty-eight times (Bennett and Fraser 92). Remarkably, these crimes were allegedly committed by members of the population aged between fifteen and twenty-four. Furthermore, in all arrests made for these crimes, a percentage of twenty had a participant who was eighteen years of age or younger. These statistics mean that virtually one-fifth of violent crimes in the United States involved a minor black American citizen. In 1995, the number of cases of violence by black Americans in the United States was ten times higher than in Canada. Clearly, this is a huge difference considering the two countries are close to each other. This shows that the number of crimes committed by the black American population was enormous. Targeting Young Black American Males The high crime rate among Black Americans primarily targeted the young male population in the United States. In 1990, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that the majority of homicide cases targeted Black American males (Bennett and Fraser 94). For every 27 men, one was at risk of becoming a murder victim. Furthermore, the largest number of these cases involved men between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four. The number of crime victims in this age was approximately one hundred and thirty-two young people out of one hundred thousand. Among these crimes, most ended in deaths and fatal or permanent injuries. It is important to remember that these crimes were mostly gang-related. Therefore, this suggests that most of the crimes were due to cases of drug trafficking, robberies, gang fights and issues involving initiation into particular gangs as young males are the most prominent targetsfor criminal gangs. Crime rate in South AfricaThe crime rate Violence in South Africa is also very high. Similar to black American society, South Africa was among the top countries in the world in terms of violent crimes. In the latter part of the 1990s, South Africa had a murder record of sixty people per hundred thousand (CSVR3). Although the numbers decreased in the period between 2008 and 2009 to thirty-nine per one hundred thousand people, they still remain very high compared to other nations. Furthermore, violent robbery was another widespread act of violent crime in the country (CSVR3). In 2000, South Africa recorded the highest number of car robberies in the world: 87% of these robberies occurred at gunpoint. Similar to black Americans, violent crime was widespread in South Africa. High number of firearms in South Africa The number of firearms among South African citizens was high. The white population in South Africa was allowed to own guns. In the 1990s there were many conflicts between white South Africans and the country's indigenous population (CSVR4). This caused white gun ownership for self-defense to be legalized. As a result, this meant that the circulation of weapons in South Africa doubled. These weapons were also given to black allies to help support the apartheid regime (CSVR4). During this period, the illegal acquisition of guns on the black market also multiplied as whites who had the ability to own guns sold them to criminal groups in the country (CSVR6). This is very similar to the situation of the black American population since in both cases guns were the weapon used in most cases of robbery and murder. For example, in 2000, guns were the main weapons used to rob cars in South Africa, making it the region with the highest number of car robberies. Discrimination and crime Discrimination has been a major factor leading to high levels of crime. In South Africa there was strong colonial oppression in the 1980s and 1990s (CSVR5). The settlers residing in the country did not provide significant employment opportunities for the country's black population. Unfortunately, this caused poverty among the indigenous Africans, who later resorted to indulgence in other means of earning; theft (CSVR5). Many criminal gangs were formed that antagonized the wealthy occupants of the country. Upon reflection, this situation was very similar to that of black Americans. In the 1990s, most Black Americans did not hold gainful jobs in the United States (Bennett and Fraser 100). This discrimination has resulted in violent crimes in both countries. Possible Solutions There were some measures that could have been taken to resolve the crisis in these areas. One of the measures would have been to provide low-cost or free health care and education to the areas most affected by poverty. This would have reduced the cost of living for the black American community and the population of South Africa, thus improving their standard of living and reducing the number of robbery cases. Furthermore, the governments of both regions reportedly carried out regular expeditions in search of weapons possessed without a licence. Another remedy would be to eradicate criminal groups in the United States and South Africa as this would reduce crime cases and the number of youth sent to safety in urban centers where most of these crimes took place. With these measures in place, the rate of violent crime would not have been as imminent for black Americans and South Africans. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay. 3,.