The need for an urgent response to crime prevention, which has received considerable public attention, is for the community to band together and raise disciplined children from a young age to combat future crimes.

These sentiments were shared by Namibian Police Inspector General, Lieutenant General Joseph Shikongo at a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the police in Opuwo on Tuesday, where he urged community members and traditional authorities in the Kunene Region to instil good discipline in their children and to engage citizens in discouraging and preventing crime at the local level.

Shikongo noted that, while not all children suffer adversity, the nation’s well-being necessitates that each child in every community is given a chance to attain their full potential, which can also provide them with an opportunity to avert crimes.

‘We do not want to push everything into the police, things that you as traditional leaders can do, even the upbringing of your children, the discipline of your children you want
to report to the police,’ charged Shikongo.

‘Things have changed now, you can’t even discipline your neighbour’s kids, and then it becomes an issue. Growing up we were raised as equals without these things of saying, ‘no don’t touch my kids’ and so forth, and I must add that the lack of discipline in today’s children also contributes to high crime rates,’ added Shikongo.

Furthermore, Shikongo urged traditional leaders to use the power they hold via their traditional courts to resolve disputes internally rather than contacting the police.

Furthermore, Shikongo maintained that concerted efforts should be made with all stakeholders, including effective strategies that emphasise the importance of enhancing delinquency prevention efforts, and with the community to engage the police on what they believe should be done to better serve them.

‘As an organisation, it is not our responsibility to tell you how we want to accomplish our work; rather, we are the servants of the people. We want the community to inform u
s that they want police officers to serve them in this manner,’ Shikongo stated, pledging for a unified nation to take on all types of crime as a whole.

Source: Namibia Press Agency