Legal Shield launches toll-free Crime Line

TRUSTCO Group International at the weekend launched a Crime Line as part of the company’s social responsibility programme.

The Crime Line, to which Legal Shield, a subsidiary of Trustco, said it would contribute up to N$1 million, is aimed at helping ensure crime prevention by encouraging people to report crime toll-free. Legal Shield CEO Quinton van Rooyen said members of the public could dial the number – 081999 – at no cost.Information gathered from callers would be forwarded to the Namibian Police.Van Rooyen said the confidentiality of the informants would be guaranteed by Legal Shield through a state-of-the-art computer system.However, Attorney General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana expressed some reservations.”I am aware that NamPol has raised a number of concerns with the Crime Line initiative, which concerns cannot be ignored.I, therefore, urge the Trustco Group to engage NamPol with a view to regularising the partnership with them and sorting out all administrative matters, before operationalising the Crime Line in earnest,” she said.Iivula-Ithana said similar efforts elsewhere in the world had failed because of pretentious calls and false information.Nevertheless, she called Crime Line a winning private-public partnership because without it, “witnesses and possible informants cannot channel the information they have to the authorities without fear of being identified and inconvenienced by the mandatory procedures and other matters”.Legal Shield CEO Quinton van Rooyen said members of the public could dial the number – 081999 – at no cost. Information gathered from callers would be forwarded to the Namibian Police. Van Rooyen said the confidentiality of the informants would be guaranteed by Legal Shield through a state-of-the-art computer system. However, Attorney General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana expressed some reservations. “I am aware that NamPol has raised a number of concerns with the Crime Line initiative, which concerns cannot be ignored. I, therefore, urge the Trustco Group to engage NamPol with a view to regularising the partnership with them and sorting out all administrative matters, before operationalising the Crime Line in earnest,” she said. Iivula-Ithana said similar efforts elsewhere in the world had failed because of pretentious calls and false information. Nevertheless, she called Crime Line a winning private-public partnership because without it, “witnesses and possible informants cannot channel the information they have to the authorities without fear of being identified and inconvenienced by the mandatory procedures and other matters”.