The police recorded an increase in robberies and break-ins during the past week. However, there was an insignificant decline in incidents of burglaries and breaking into businesses during the week under review.
The police recorded a total of 52 robbery incidents in which 42 of them were those in which suspects used different offensive weapons including firearms. The police recorded 75 cases in which houses were broken into during the day and property stolen.
The South Central Division accounted for most of the breakings recorded during the week under review. Gaborone and its periphery accounted for more than 50 percent of breakings and robberies recorded throughout the country.
In one of the robbery incident that was reported during the past week, a shop in Mogoditshane was robbed of cash amounting to over P165 000. It is alleged that the perpetrators broke and entered the shop and got away with the money.
Since the beginning of this year to date, the police recorded 1065 robbery cases in which, suspects were armed while in 360 cases suspects were unarmed. In the same period last year, the police recorded 950 armed robbery incidents throughout the country.
The public is advised to tighten security in their homes and businesses and to avoid secluded areas especially during odd times. Furthermore the public is urged to keep their money in commercial banks to avert robberies. Botswana Police would like to assure the public that it would tighten security in crime prone areas and intensify patrols to reduce crime.