Crime is a difficult subject since many good things within our history were done by breaking certain rules in order to earn a better lifestyle. For example, the bloodshed that happened during the Revolutionary War is a good example of what back then would have been considered a crime, yet in today's mindset, we see it as a brave and morally appropriate action.
But let's get on the subject on South Africa; South Africa is certainly a poor nation with it's poverty rate between 39-46.2%, and many basic services such as access to clean water and food created create discord within the nation. However, the crimes of South Africa are much more despicable; murder, kidnappings, assaults, acts of violence that lead to nothing but more chaos. It must be understood that it's not the poverty that is causing this violence, as many investigative journalists have dug deep to find that these are mostly tied to the wars that are frequent and rampant in all of Africa.
The crimes that can be linked to the poverty would be the crimes of stealing food from one another, not paying for items, ect. The poverty doesn't make it morally correct to do these things, but in a survival instinct, it can be understood.
Does the unequal access to basic services make it reasonable for those to commit crimes within the South Africa nation? No, but when it comes to actions done to help themselves when no one else will such as trying to get some extra food or water from a neighbor who has more than they need, it's understandable. Note: Understandable does not equal reasonable. It simply means that the crime that has been taken place under eyes of justice will be looked at with a different viewpoint than say a murder or assault against another person.
