Mariental
Disobeying traffic rules and regulations seems to be the order of the day in Hardap Region, as the local traffic department has issued about 748 tickets worth over a million.
The summonses, issued between April and June this year, amount to a staggering N$1.095 million.
This was revealed by the Hardap Police Acting Regional Commander, Deputy Commissioner Joseph Gaeseb, during his briefing of the Minister of Safety and Security, (Rtd) Major-General Charles Namoloh, and his deputy Daniel Kashikola last Friday.
Gaeseb said the amount should not be confused as a total that was collected, but rather the value of the tickets issued during the three-month operation.
In his briefing at his office he also indicated that during the same period the police in his region managed to successfully confiscate drugs amounting to N$20 465 during operations.
He went on to reveal that there are currently 95 criminal cases against members of the police force, of which four involve females, while there are 51 departmental cases of which 12 cases have been finalized and 39 are still outstanding.
Gaeseb noted that only one case of the 51 departmental cases involves a female officer and that the most prevalent cases are that of absent from work without leave, and escape of prisoners from lawful custody, because of negligence by the police officers.
He also stressed that efforts to reduce crime in the region are being taken, however crime is still prevalent and mostly alcohol related.
“One of the main contributions to the relative high number of assault cases is alcohol and drug abuse,” he said.
He further revealed that the most common crimes committed in the region are housebreaking and theft, assault, rape, stock theft on a small scale, robbery and murder.
“Stock theft is usually done on a small scale where people steal for their pots only, so it’s not a big syndicate,” he stressed.
The ministers visited Hardap as part of their familiarization tour of the regions