How safe is safe? Walvis residents weigh in

THE Walvis Bay community overwhelmingly supports the creation of a city police force, judging by the results of a first round of public meetings held at the coast.

Eighty per cent of representatives from all sectors of the community who attended said they had been affected by crime. The overall feeling was that crime had become a huge problem at the harbour town, and that there had been an increase in violent crimes.The Erongo Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner Andrew Iiyambo, said he was not against a city police force, but he did not agree that crime had gotten out of hand at Walvis Bay.Referring to statistics, he told The Namibian that there had been a 33 per cent decrease in reported cases of all types of crime from 2004 to 2005.At the meetings, a representative from a security firm felt the official statistics were not a true reflection – according to him many people no longer bothered to report incidents.Another opinion expressed was that the Windhoek City Police was doing such a good job that many of the capital’s criminals have relocated to the coast.At recent public meetings organised by the Municipality of Walvis Bay to determine what citizens think about a city police force, the strongest support came from the youth and senior citizens.Young people said they felt very unsafe, while pensioners said they would be willing to make a monthly contribution from their meagre monthly income.Kevin Adams, Public Relations Manager of the Walvis Bay Municipality, told The Namibian that according to initial rough estimates, households would be charged N$50 a month and businesses N$120 a month for a city police force.The business sector was not completely behind the idea, asking why it was necessary to spend more money on a service already performed by the Namibian Police.They also felt many people were paying for private security services as well.Commissioner Iiyambo shared the same concern.He said while the new police force would be of great assistance to his officers, he was not sure whether it was worth placing an extra financial burden on taxpayers.Iiyambo said the issue of adequate resources for the Namibian Police should perhaps receive more attention.”My officers cannot work effectively if there are only two patrol vehicles available to them.”He felt the Police in Erongo were still making a difference, though.He noted that the crackdown on illegal shebeens in the region last year had resulted in a drastic drop in crime.Since the Police started enforcing the Liquor Act in May last year and closing down illegal shebeens in September, the number of cases reported per week had dropped from between 60 and 70 to between 15 and 25 at Kuisebmond.The Woman and Child Protection Unit of the Police reported that since the closure of shebeens, domestic violence cases had also gone down.Only 10 per cent of the 400 shebeens at the harbour town were legal.Iiyambo said this meant that Walvis Bay’s weekly crime statistics were currently below those of Swakopmund.Housebreaking is still rampant at Swakopmund, where an average of 45 cases of all types of crime are reported each week, compared to 25 to 30 reported at Walvis Bay.Eckart Demasius, Chief Executive Officer of the Swakopmund Municipality, said he was not sure that crime at his town had reached such proportions that it justified the creation of a city police force.He said should the Swakopmund Council contemplate such a move, they would first have to ask residents and inform them of the costs involved.He felt people should rather take small steps to prevent crime, as many were still very careless – leaving car windows open and washing on the line.A concern raised by residents at Swakopmund lately is that private security firms no longer react when clients press the panic buttons on their house alarms, even if it is in the middle of the night.The trend is to first phone the client, in an apparent attempt to save the cost of driving to the home.A resident told The Namibian that she no longer felt safe, even with an alarm system in her home.Another concern raised at the Walvis Bay meetings, and by Demasius, was that it would not help much to create an efficient police force unless the court system was improved, and there was enough space for criminals in holding cells.Adams of the Walvis Bay Municipality said the first round of meetings only involved representatives of every sector in the community and that a second round of meetings would be held for all residents to give them feedback.Should there be overwhelming support for a local police force, it would take another two years of planning before it could be established, he said.* Maggi Barnard is a freelance journalist.The overall feeling was that crime had become a huge problem at the harbour town, and that there had been an increase in violent crimes. The Erongo Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner Andrew Iiyambo, said he was not against a city police force, but he did not agree that crime had gotten out of hand at Walvis Bay.Referring to statistics, he told The Namibian that there had been a 33 per cent decrease in reported cases of all types of crime from 2004 to 2005.At the meetings, a representative from a security firm felt the official statistics were not a true reflection – according to him many people no longer bothered to report incidents.Another opinion expressed was that the Windhoek City Police was doing such a good job that many of the capital’s criminals have relocated to the coast.At recent public meetings organised by the Municipality of Walvis Bay to determine what citizens think about a city police force, the strongest support came from the youth and senior citizens.Young people said they felt very unsafe, while pensioners said they would be willing to make a monthly contribution from their meagre monthly income.Kevin Adams, Public Relations Manager of the Walvis Bay Municipality, told The Namibian that according to initial rough estimates, households would be charged N$50 a month and businesses N$120 a month for a city police force.The business sector was not completely behind the idea, asking why it was necessary to spend more money on a service already performed by the Namibian Police.They also felt many people were paying for private security services as well.Commissioner Iiyambo shared the same concern.He said while the new police force would be of great assistance to his officers, he was not sure whether it was worth placing an extra financial burden on taxpayers.Iiyambo said the issue of adequate resources for the Namibian Police should perhaps receive more attention.”My officers cannot work effectively if there are only two patrol vehicles available to them.”He felt the Police in Erongo were still making a difference, though.He noted that the crackdown on illegal shebeens in the region last year had resulted in a drastic drop in crime.Since the Police started enforcing the Liquor Act in May last year and closing down illegal shebeens in September, the number of cases reported per week had dropped from between 60 and 70 to between 15 and 25 at Kuisebmond.The Woman and Child Protection Unit of the Police reported that since the closure of shebeens, domestic violence cases had also gone down.Only 10 per cent of the 400 shebeens at the harbour town were legal.Iiyambo said this meant that Walvis Bay’s weekly crime statistics were currently below those of Swakopmund.Housebreaking is still rampant at Swakopmund, where an average of 45 cases of all types of crime are reported each week, compared to 25 to 30 reported at Walvis Bay.Eckart Demasius, Chief Executive Officer of the Swakopmund Municipality, said he was not sure that crime at his town had reached such proportions that it justified the creation of a city police force.He said should the Swakopmund Council contemplate such a move, they would first have to ask residents and inform them of the costs involved.He felt people should rather take small steps to prevent crime, as many were still very careless – leaving car windows open and washing on the line.A concern raised by residents at Swakopmund lately
is that private security firms no longer react when clients press the panic buttons on their house alarms, even if it is in the middle of the night.The trend is to first phone the client, in an apparent attempt to save the cost of driving to the home.A resident told The Namibian that she no longer felt safe, even with an alarm system in her home.Another concern raised at the Walvis Bay meetings, and by Demasius, was that it would not help much to create an efficient police force unless the court system was improved, and there was enough space for criminals in holding cells.Adams of the Walvis Bay Municipality said the first round of meetings only involved representatives of every sector in the community and that a second round of meetings would be held for all residents to give them feedback.Should there be overwhelming support for a local police force, it would take another two years of planning before it could be established, he said.* Maggi Barnard is a freelance journalist.