Residents want bobbies on beat

A LACK of Police visibility at Keetmanshoop again came under the spotlight at a Police Public Relations Committee meeting at the town last week.

Residents serving on the committee believe robberies in the streets are on the rise because there are no Police patrols. The committee proposed that each of the four residential areas should be patrolled by at least one Police van.Briefing the committee on the crime situation at the southern town, the local Police Station Commander, James Nderura, said most crimes are committed during the early hours of the morning. He partly blamed the escalating crime on shebeens that fail to operate within the set business hours stipulated by the Liquor Act. Committee member Chris Tjivangurura said crime could be minimised if the Police arrested people for being drunk in public.’If a nation fails to address the issue of alcohol abuse, crime will stay,’ he said. Nderura said people found drunk in the streets had been locked up in the past, but this resulted in overcrowded Police holding cells. He did not clearly spell out whether the Police had stopped arresting people for public drunkenness. Street children harassing tourists and stealing goods from bakkies are also getting out of hand at the town, it surfaced at the meeting. Chief Social Worker Tuma Naukusha, representing the Gender Equality and Child Welfare Ministry on the committee, said the ‘issue of streets kids cannot be solved overnight’.’It’s a complex issue involving many factors and it needs proper planning and funding to deal with it,’ Naukusha said. luqman@namibian.com.na