TALK of Sicilian tour operators cashing in on the Italian island's reputation as the cradle of the Mafia, speaks to the ills of glamourising crime and criminals.

The tour operators might have a point. Billions of rands are spent on making movies, writing books and academic pursuits to satisfy the insatiable appetite for a glimpse into workings of "the mob".

Though we are not yet close to making crime a reason for international travelers to come to South Africa, we should do whatever we can to eradicate the myth that there is glory in dying young and having a good-looking corpse.

To glamourise crime and criminals is to spit in the faces and, what is worse, on the graves of its victims. It is one-way ticket to anarchy.

We must never allow ourselves to reach a point where we want to assume that some positives might come from the criminal life.