Otjinene youths invited to join fight against crime

Staff Reporter Windhoek-The Otjinene Youth Forum is calling on the youth in the area to register with the forum so that they become part of the Namibian Police Force and community efforts against crime as volunteers. Chairperson of the Otjinene Youth Forum, Jamanuka Mbaisa, says he is in the process of registering youth in the area for this purpose whereupon the registered youth would undergo basic training courtesy of the police. The Otjinene Youth Against Crime forum has been in existence since 2015 with an initial 12 members but the number has dropped after four members secured gainful employment in Otjinene, which has been experiencing an economic boom since it became a settlement. But Mbaisa says the intention is to again swell the ranks of the volunteers to about 20 people. He says increasing the number of the volunteers is important for the area with 137 villages in helping fight crime. He is thus appealing to the youth to come forward to his office with their names and passport photos so that this process is finalised as soon as possible and they accordingly get the necessary basic training. Mbaisa says the youth volunteers have been very helpful in helping the police fight crime in the settlement by tipping off the police about suspect criminal activities. Among such lately has been tipping off the police about stolen cattle as a result of which the culprits were apprehended. Likewise, they have also helped the police in clamping down on drug abuse and smuggling as well as breaking a syndicate which has been stealing learners’ properties, of course with the help of some learners at one of the local schools. Among other crimes in the settlement in which the youth volunteers’ body has been able to help the police are burglaries, pick pocketing, cattle rustling and cell phone theft. Although Mbaisa says the body has been viewed with disdain by criminal elements, the community has been collaborating, and appreciates police work in helping fight crime in the settlement.
2017-08-16 10:43:26 1 years ago