Clemans Miyanicwe
Khorixas-Police in the northwestern town of Khorixas are concerned about the increase in burglaries targeting residential homes and the upsurge in cases of assault.
Seven cases of assault have been recorded over a three-week period while five burglaries were also registered during that time.
Nampol community affairs officer Sergeant Amon Kapiye confirmed the cases.
“GBH [grievous bodily harm] has become the greatest concern for the local police force. It is on a rapid increase and its needs immediate intervention from the community, police and other stakeholders to address it,” Kapiye said.
Based on their records the biggest contributing factors to crime at the town were drug and alcohol abuse.
“Most members of the public use alcohol and drugs excessively resulting in these cases.
“We urge members of public to drink responsible and refrain from assaulting each other,” he said.
With regard to housebreaking cases, Kapiye said the police had noted that most house break-ins took place during the day when owners were at work or are out for some other reason.
The police appealed to residents to deploy workable strategies such as neighbourhood watches, Women and Men Network Against Crime, Youth Against Crime and other policing initiatives to tackle crime head-on.
Four cases of theft were reported and three cases of dealing in, and possession of cannabis were reported in a three-week period, which was a high figure for the normally sleepy, sparsely populated town.