Drop in cases reported

The number of criminal cases reported to the Namibian Police in December at Walvis Bay (excluding Narraville, Kuisebmond and Dolphin bay station) dropped with 35 % compared to December 2017.

In December 2017 a total of 178 cases were reported at the Walvis Bay police station and in December 2018 this dropped to 116 cases, the Acting Station Commander of the Walvis Bay Police, Inspector Ruben Shapumba, said during a meeting with community policing structures on Wednesday night.
The drastic drop is attributed to several factors including stepped up efforts by members of the Namibian Police and Police Reservists to prevent crime, the various neighbourhood watch groups active in the area and the Namibian De-fence Force that deployed soldiers with the Namibian Police over the festive period during the countrywide anti-crime action, Operation Hornkranz. Inspec-tor Shapumba during the meeting thanked the various formations for their efforts over the festive period and said positive results were reaped.
He urged all formations to maintain the momentum and to overcome challenges through innovation. Inspector Shapumba urged residents and businesspeople of the harbour town to get involved in local neighbourhood watch formations. There are various avenues to get involved: it could be from a small monthly money contribution to cover operational expenses because neighbourhood watch groups fund their operations from their own pockets or by getting involved in patrolling or donate equipment that can be put to use during patrols.
During feedback the various neighbourhood watch groups urged residents to get involved. The more people taking part in the activities of neighbourhood watch groups, the lesser a burden it would be on active members.
Residents were also urged to make their homes safe. Burglar bars, security doors, alarm systems, motion detecting security equipment like beams and outdoor lights are essential to improve home security. Aluminium windows were singled out as the biggest problem. Aluminium window glass is kept in position by snap-on frames. Burglars can remove it in seconds without effort or noise. Owners and residents of homes with Aluminium windows are urged to fit burglar bars to all windows and not only openers.
Residents were also urged not to create opportunities for burglaries and theft. Don’t leave vehicle outside at night and never leave any valuables in a vehicle, as criminals never stop snooping around. Even empty bags or a pair of cheap sunglasses can cause a burglar to target your car and in doing so cause expensive damage.
In his address to the audience, the commander of the criminal investigation department, Detective Inspector Ambabi urged residents to be vigilant against fraud. Fraudsters are targeting their victims through newspaper classifieds, cell phone messages and social media offering vehicles and other items for sale, only to steal the unsuspecting victim’s money and never delivering the items pretended to be up for sale. The same goes for people who place advertisements in the newspaper putting items up for sale. In many instance criminals would contact you pretending to be interested, but that interest only go as far as plans to steal your money.