Community policing bears fruit

ERONGO’S police chief, Deputy Commissioner Festus Shilongo, emphasised that the Police need the public’s assistance to maintain law and order when he addressed a public meeting on community policing at Swakopmund on Wednesday.

He said Swakopmund was the crime hotspot in the Erongo Region, especially when it came to crimes against tourists. However, other crimes such as housebreaking and theft had decreased by nearly half since he tool over as regional commander three months ago, Shilongo said.One of the major reasons for this success, he said, was his decision to establish Police Public Relations Committees to act as the eyes and ears of the Police.Committee members represent businesses, schools, churches, the municipality and ordinary citizens.He said this approach was already bearing fruit in formerly crime-stricken towns such as Walvis Bay.He also commended the increase in neighbourhood watches at the harbour town and urged the people of Swakopmund to follow their example.”When the community pulls together, they will assist the security companies and the Police in making their suburbs and towns safe.We need each other, and although we will probably not be able to eradicate crime 100 per cent, we will at least suppress it,” he said.He said if law-abiding citizens gave the Police information on suspected criminal activities, it would bring crime down to a manageable level.Shilongo admitted that the Police did not have enough patrol vehicles to respond promptly to all calls for help.It also did not have accommodation for extra officers to beef up its presence at the coast all year round.He said the Police presence at Swakopmund would once again be reinforced during the coming holiday season, but added that this should ideally be maintained throughout the year.”When people criticise us for not attending to incidents sooner; I admit, it is true, because when we’re busy with a situation on the one end of town, it takes time to attend to another situation on the other side of the town because of our lack of resources,” he said.He said the local community, especially the business sector, needed to help the Police to make their areas safer.They should follow the example of some mining companies – which have donated vehicles to the Police – and the Swakopmund Municipality and the Hotel Association, which helped the Police to acquire barracks to house officers.”Swakopmund has grown over the past several decades, resulting in more people, hence more crime.Our infrastructure remained the same though, so there is a need for development there,” he said.”Our business community can assist us in this regard.It’s for the best of us all.”However, other crimes such as housebreaking and theft had decreased by nearly half since he tool over as regional commander three months ago, Shilongo said.One of the major reasons for this success, he said, was his decision to establish Police Public Relations Committees to act as the eyes and ears of the Police.Committee members represent businesses, schools, churches, the municipality and ordinary citizens.He said this approach was already bearing fruit in formerly crime-stricken towns such as Walvis Bay.He also commended the increase in neighbourhood watches at the harbour town and urged the people of Swakopmund to follow their example.”When the community pulls together, they will assist the security companies and the Police in making their suburbs and towns safe.We need each other, and although we will probably not be able to eradicate crime 100 per cent, we will at least suppress it,” he said.He said if law-abiding citizens gave the Police information on suspected criminal activities, it would bring crime down to a manageable level.Shilongo admitted that the Police did not have enough patrol vehicles to respond promptly to all calls for help.It also did not have accommodation for extra officers to beef up its presence at the coast all year round.He said the Police presence at Swakopmund would once again be reinforced during the coming holiday season, but added that this should ideally be maintained throughout the year.”When people criticise us for not attending to incidents sooner; I admit, it is true, because when we’re busy with a situation on the one end of town, it takes time to attend to another situation on the other side of the town because of our lack of resources,” he said.He said the local community, especially the business sector, needed to help the Police to make their areas safer.They should follow the example of some mining companies – which have donated vehicles to the Police – and the Swakopmund Municipality and the Hotel Association, which helped the Police to acquire barracks to house officers.”Swakopmund has grown over the past several decades, resulting in more people, hence more crime.Our infrastructure remained the same though, so there is a need for development there,” he said.”Our business community can assist us in this regard.It’s for the best of us all.”