Editorial: The City Police Are Making A Difference

IT may be early days yet, but to all intents and purposes, and judging from largely positive public feedback, the City Police appear to be making a difference when it comes to the effective tackling of crime in Windhoek.

Newspapers have featured a number of letters from satisfied residents who have called the City Police and found their responses to be prompt and efficient, and this in itself is commendable. The raison d’être for the City Police was to a large extent prompted by public dissatisfaction with the rising crime rate and the inefficiency of the Namibian Police, or NamPol as they are known.Whether, since they have commenced duty, the crime rate has actually dropped in the capital, cannot be established, but it is nevertheless encouraging that members of the public are finding them overall more responsive to their needs than NamPol.This is not to say that there are not NamPol members who are not doing a thoroughly good job of work in fighting crime, but the public had generally reached a point of disillusionment when it came to calling on them in times of crisis, for they either did not have vehicles or did not bother to pitch.So the City Police have certainly contributed to a better profile for our law enforcement officers in general, and we would encourage them not only to continue in this manner, but to build on achievements already made.One of the areas in which they can maximise promotion of their work is through the media, and they should be encouraged to inform the media themselves of the successful crime ‘busts’ that they make.It is therefore important that their public relations division publicises their work.Sometimes it is purely by accident that the media get to hear of successful interventions, but were they to brief the press more often in future, then this in itself could act as a strong deterrent to crime and to criminals.We have said it before in relation to NamPol, and we say it again: that a better-educated, more informed and well-trained police force can do much to combat crime and deal with the complaints of citizens.We would encourage the City Police to keep it up in this regard, as it is only with efficient service delivery that their image can be not only enhanced, but also maintained in the eyes of the public.Some have been critical of the City Police for overemphasising the traffic component and there may be some truth in this.Actual policing, at the end of the day, is needed more than smart-looking cars at every intersection.Hopefully the City Police will not rest on their laurels, having already garnered, to a large extent, public support.They should maintain and improve on their current levels of responsiveness to urgent calls for assistance; continue to keep up a good appearance with neat and clean uniforms and a helpful manner; and of course, similarly maintain their vehicle fleet.From our perspective in the media, we would continue to offer our assistance, insofar as we possibly can, to help in the very vital task of crime prevention in the nation’s capital.We are also willing to publicise the good works of this department in an attempt to not only keep up the spirits of this force, but to urge them to greater heights when it comes to the defence of law and order.The raison d’être for the City Police was to a large extent prompted by public dissatisfaction with the rising crime rate and the inefficiency of the Namibian Police, or NamPol as they are known.Whether, since they have commenced duty, the crime rate has actually dropped in the capital, cannot be established, but it is nevertheless encouraging that members of the public are finding them overall more responsive to their needs than NamPol.This is not to say that there are not NamPol members who are not doing a thoroughly good job of work in fighting crime, but the public had generally reached a point of disillusionment when it came to calling on them in times of crisis, for they either did not have vehicles or did not bother to pitch.So the City Police have certainly contributed to a better profile for our law enforcement officers in general, and we would encourage them not only to continue in this manner, but to build on achievements already made.One of the areas in which they can maximise promotion of their work is through the media, and they should be encouraged to inform the media themselves of the successful crime ‘busts’ that they make.It is therefore important that their public relations division publicises their work.Sometimes it is purely by accident that the media get to hear of successful interventions, but were they to brief the press more often in future, then this in itself could act as a strong deterrent to crime and to criminals.We have said it before in relation to NamPol, and we say it again: that a better-educated, more informed and well-trained police force can do much to combat crime and deal with the complaints of citizens.We would encourage the City Police to keep it up in this regard, as it is only with efficient service delivery that their image can be not only enhanced, but also maintained in the eyes of the public.Some have been critical of the City Police for overemphasising the traffic component and there may be some truth in this.Actual policing, at the end of the day, is needed more than smart-looking cars at every intersection.Hopefully the City Police will not rest on their laurels, having already garnered, to a large extent, public support.They should maintain and improve on their current levels of responsiveness to urgent calls for assistance; continue to keep up a good appearance with neat and clean uniforms and a helpful manner; and of course, similarly maintain their vehicle fleet.From our perspective in the media, we would continue to offer our assistance, insofar as we possibly can, to help in the very vital task of crime prevention in the nation’s capital.We are also willing to publicise the good works of this department in an attempt to not only keep up the spirits of this force, but to urge them to greater heights when it comes to the defence of law and order.