By William J. Mbangula
OSHAKATI
The police in Oshana Region have declared war on crime.
It was recently announced that major crime-busting operations are to be conducted throughout the region.
Led by newly appointed regional Deputy Commissioner Ndahangwapo Kashihakumwa, police efforts were recently boosted with the promotion of 62 officers by the Inspector General of the Police, Lieutenant Sebastian Ndeitunga, and the revival of the Police Public Relations Committee(PPRC) in the region, which has been dormant for some time.
Speaking at a meeting of the PPRC attended by the Mayor of Oshakati, Katrina Shimbulu, community leaders from the informal settlements of Kandjengedi, Oshoopala, Uupindi, Evululuko, Ompumbu and Oneshila, and traditional leaders from Uukwambi district, Kashihakumwa said the police have an obligation to promote good relations between themselves and members of the public in order to work more efficiently, hence the revival of the committee.
On the other hand, members of the public need to come forward and demonstrate their sense of patriotism by assisting the police.
Outlining the main aim of the committee, he explained that it is to share ideas between the members of the public and the police in their combined efforts to fight crime.
The committee can only be viable if its members succeed to educate the local population about the need to combat crime and the dangers associated with it.
Said Kashihakumwa: “The first thing we need to know and understand as people involved in maintaining law and order together with the community is to have a clear picture as to what constitutes a criminal offence.
“The community members need to know what is a criminal offence, what is the danger of crime. Only then, if we can understand what the concept of criminal activities is all about, can we reduce offensive activities in society.”
He said once everybody in society has a clear understanding of crime, the members of the PPRC would find it easy to come up with sound and appropriate strategies to fight crime in the region.
According to Kashihakumwa, criminals have realized that there are loopholes in terms of the working relations between the police and members of the public, which they exploit to their advantage. The gap needs to be closed, hence the revival of the PPRC.
Lack of close cooperation between the police and public promotes misconceptions about crime prevention. One of the misconceptions is that the public entrusts the responsibility of fighting crime to the police.
Kashihakumwa said this understanding is wrong because the police cannot fight crime alone without assistance from citizens. Citizens normally have information since suspects live among them .
They see and interact with them on a daily basis. He explained that “criminals steal from the community, and they kill, maim and rape members of the community and destroy their property. This shows that there is no way crime can be fought alone by the police without the active involvement of the very people who are directly affected by the criminal activities.
“Let us develop a sense of patriotism. If you hear a sound of pain, cry of despair in the house of your neighbour, strange sound or movement around you, don’t lock yourself, try to get assistance. Imagine if the sound of agony or despair was coming from your wife, children, brother, sister or any of your relatives, it will not be pleasing to you.”
Some community members at the meeting suggested that the police should increase the number of informers. Asked to highlight prevalent criminal activities in the region, the regional commander said most of them relate to burglary, fraud, robbery, shoplifting and assault.
Only recently, the police impounded a car which was abandoned by criminals after they were surprised by the quick reaction of the police. They had robbed a woman at an FNB ATM machine but before they could drive away, the police arrived.
One of the suspects was arrested. The others are still at large but are known to the police.
The police are also investigating a case where a street vendor was robbed of her daily intake after being sprayed with gas by criminals.
And a Bank Windhoek branch at Oshakati was broken into and computers and other electronic materials were stolen.
Kashihakumwa cautioned people to be careful about the way they handle their financial resources.
He narrated a story of a man from Opuwo who came to Oshakati to do business but ended up being cheated of more than N$3000 by criminals.
This type of theft, locally known as Okatoo whereby criminals entice unsuspecting people to conclude random and risky deals, always results in members of the public ending up as bad losers.
With regard to car theft, Kashihakumwa said it was not so prevalent but a recent incident at Ehafo village involving the car of Endjala Namushela being stolen from his house, was a source of concern to the police. The police are still investigating this incident which happened about a week ago.
On September 20, 62 officers were promoted from Sergeants to Chief Inspectors. It was announced that those who were promoted would spearhead operations to be carried out in the region soon.