The increase of crime in sophistication and complexity worries the Botswana Police Service as it demands more resource allocation.
Speaking at the annual briefing of resident Heads of Diplomatic Missions on crime situation in Botswana yesterday (18/08/10) in Gaborone, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), Mr Kenny Kapinga said Botswana Police is disturbed by increasing crime, particularly emerging crime involving among others the use of explosives in breaking business premises targeting money safes, targeting persons carrying large sums of money and theft of laptops from premises and motor vehicles.
He said from January to August this year, Botswana Police recorded 924 cases of armed robberies, 2547 house breaking and theft, 2916 Burglary and theft and 1587 cases of store breaking. He however, advised foreign diplomats to take personal security precautions against crime, urging them to reinforce buildings’ security with efficient access control mechanisms and to report suspicious characters to the police.
On road safety, the Deputy Commissioner encouraged diplomats to be cautious of the increasing road accidents in Gaborone, saying risk times are weekends, evenings and early mornings. He said young drivers of ages from 18 to 35 are main perpetrators as well as victims, adding that pedestrians comprising children and old people were main victims. He said speeding, driver misconduct and drunkenness, remain major causes of accidents.
Mr Kapinga said, although limited resources have become a challenge to policing in the country, they have put measures in place to address emerging crime issues. These measures include rapid response teams in and around Gaborone, enhancing crime intelligence capacity targeting crime hotspots and reputed offenders, increased stop, question and search operations and spontaneous road blocks, and community policing initiatives through Cluster Policing and public education on prevalent crimes and prevention strategies.
He said Botswana Police has strong cooperation with other police services regionally and internationally through Interpol and Southern African Regional Police Cooperation Organization (SARPCCO).
The brief meeting was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to update foreign diplomats staying in Botswana about the crime situation and available measures.
ENDS