City Policing hailed for proactiveness
City Policing, a quick response unit of the Botswana Police Service (BPS), is already proving popular for stemming the tide of crime in Tlokweng, barely weeks after it was launched in December. The initiative is the brainchild of the Ministry of Defence and Security working in close cooperation with BPS, and was designed to bring the high crime rate in Botswana’s towns and cities under control. In recent times, crimes of an intrusive nature such as burglary, and house breaking and theft have become the order of the day in most villages, towns and cities across the country.
In some instances lives have been lost and valuable property stolen in the home invasions that happened mostly at night.
Amongst other places, Tlokweng has in the past become common place for the criminals.
Quizzed by The Monitor this week, Tlokweng Police Station commander, Superintendent Unoziba Rari said the new policing strategy was working well in the area as the police have been able to respond to crime reports in time and even averting commission of some.
“Although the strategy is in its early days, we are pleased with how it is turning out already. We are optimistic that we are getting somewhere,” he said, adding that some arrests have been made.
Other areas covered by the Tlokweng City Policing unit include Modipane, Mokatse and their environs. Rari said there were indications that there would still be challenges going forward, as the police continue to register reports of home invasions albeit at a reduced rate compared to pre-December periods. “Police visibility on the ground has improved both during the day and at night time. We hope that this will count for something and lead to an improvement in the rate of crime,” he added. Superintendent Rari explained that City Policing mandate was to focus primarily on responding as quickly as possible to any reports of crime threats or actual crime wherever it occurs. Rari said while previously it was common for residents to come under attack while walking in the streets, the arrival of City Policing has led to reduction in such cases, as more people felt safe.
He noted that a family was attacked by criminals last week Thursday at Mmaratanang ward, adding that the police quick response team managed to arrive on time and averted what could have been a more serious situation.
According to Rari, in the past businesses were not spared by criminals who staged robberies at gun point, a situation he said had since improved since the arrival of City Policing.