The High Cost Of Crime

NAMIBIANS have noted with deep concern a sudden resurgence of violent crime, in particular a recent spate of armed robberies in the capital and elsewhere in the country.

Various businesses and private individuals have been targeted in these incidents.Obviously the safety and security of our citizens is more at risk now than ever before, and it should be a top priority for our law enforcement bodies to nip this increase in the bud for these reasons, as well as others.Also very crucially, our tourism sector will be affected negatively if the crime rate continues to spiral. A major means of income for our country, tourism is in any case already likely to be adversely affected by the global recession, and the fact that people doesn’t have as much money to travel as before. A high crime rate will make matters even worse.While the media in recent weeks have highlighted many of the violent crimes occurring in Windhoek and elsewhere, Government needs to tackle this problem at the highest level.We should be aware by now that apart from the terrible impact upon the people of our country, both rich and poor, our foreign visitors are just as likely to be preyed upon and targeted by criminal elements, and this is bound to have an adverse effect on tourism. Foreign embassies here in the capital have to keep their people back home appraised about the situation in Namibia, and would be likely to put out cautionary travel advisories if they feel the safety of visitors could be compromised.When we have experienced high crime resurgence in the past, often the newspapers have been taken to task for publicising these incidents precisely on the grounds that these may deter visitors. However, it is our duty as media to keep people informed, whether it is our fellow citizenry and/or people from abroad, as to what is happening in this country, and we cannot allow them to be lulled into a false sense of security.What we need to do is urgently look for remedial measures and also attempt to ask people to be vigilant to the criminals in our midst.Strangely enough, neither the Minister of Safety and Security, nor the seniors in the Namibian Police, have publicly spoken out on the issue as yet, and we would suggest that they do so as a matter of urgency. In times prior, even members of the Namibia Defence Force were put on foot patrols in the capital and elsewhere to act as a deterrent to unlawful activities. This may need to be contemplated once again in order to ensure that the situation doesn’t escalate more than it has done in recent weeks.Apart from anything else, citizens of the capital have also been required to help fund the City Police, and while there have been complimentary reports about their promptness in response to public callouts regarding crime, it would be good if they were more visible regularly patrolling the streets of our business capital and residential areas. This would act as an additional deterrent to would-be criminals.We can never eliminate crime completely, but we can certainly ensure it is kept to a minimum, and the Police must also be vigilant when it comes to the manner in which these crimes are being committed and take remedial steps to ensure that a life of crime is not made easy for those who would prey on others.And while many taxi drivers are honest and law-abiding citizens, there is little doubt that increasingly taxis are being used in the commission of crimes, and it means that both Police and Nabta need to be more thorough when it comes to granting licences and also scrutinising taxi drivers for possible criminal records.Citizens must be vigilant too, and not simply turn a blind eye when it comes to suspicious characters, and/or vehicles obviously up to no good in certain areas. They themselves may not be the target this time around, but someone else is bound to suffer the consequences.In short, something needs to be done soon to tackle the new crime spiral. Already citizens have had enough, and it will not be long before one of our main income streams, namely tourism, is also negatively affected.Let us act before it is too late.