based on the cry the beloved country and your own research, are crimes committed by the native black population of south africa a cause of that society's ills or does society itself cause the crimes?

Yikes, that's such a loaded question for this small forum. It is impossible to simplify crimes by black population as the cause for socio- economic problems in South Africa. I like the book and I certainly don't think that was the theme or message behind it. I'm not an expert on S. Africa but I would hazard to guess there are complex problems involving ethnic, economic and colonial forces that contribute to South Africa's struggles.