By Anna Shilongo
AUS
The Station Commander of Aus Police Station, Warrant-Officer Johannes Gaiseb, says a number of suspects are in detention at the police cells for as long as five years but have not been charged.
This was revealed during a visit last month of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social and Community Development to the Karas Region, an information-seeking trip regarding critical social issues.
Gaiseb said some suspects had been detention since 2002 but the police had no choice but to keep them in the cells..
He said most suspects’ cases involved tourists who are never around when the cases go before court.
“It is very costly to summon a tourist, because you have to pay for all the costs involved for them to attend to cases especially when they have already left the country,” he said.
Due to that suspects are given bail but in most cases they are unable to settle the bail.
“Which is why you see cells overcrowded. Sometimes we can’t even feed prisoners because they are more than what the cells can cater for,” said the station commander.
Another concern raised was the abuse of alcohol and the increase in bars at the town. He said many crimes are committed as a result of alcohol consumption.
“The abuse of alcohol is on the increase – shebeens are open all night long, and people drink a lot, and fights erupt as a result of alcohol,” said the officer.
Gaiseb assured the committee that serious crimes are not that frequent in his town apart from alcohol-related crime like fights, stabbings and common assault.
Officers also complained about a manpower shortage. Currently, there are eight officers at the station.
Transport and accommodation are other challenges facing the officers.
The station only has one old vehicle which doubles as an ambulance for the whole area.
“Sometimes accidents occur in this town and they need more than four officers to attend, depending on the number of people involved in an accident. In most cases, we are stuck with no transport. It also happens that sometimes we have to transport people to the nearest towns where they can be assisted,” he said.
Officers appealed to the Government to provide their station with proper facilities, as the existing ones are all out of order.
“We are unable to fax or even make photocopies, we are forced to dig deep into our pockets if we need to fax,” said the officer.
Their telephone lines are also just local. When calling head office or tracing witnesses out of the region, they have to use their own money to call.