OSHAKATI: The Inspector-General of the Namibian Police Force (NamPol), Lieutenant General Joseph Shikongo, has said his goal is for the Oshana Region to be a crime-free region with no open investigations.

Shikongo said this whilst addressing members of the community at Oshakati on Wednesday.

The inspector-general is in the region on a working visit from Wednesday to Friday, during which he will engage members of the community and the business community, as well as NamPol staff.

Shikongo said peace must be preserved at all costs, therefore in addition to protecting both domestic residents and foreign visitors, officers should ensure that there is no crime and that the region is safe.

‘If the community is not doing anything to fight crime, it becomes difficult for the police to do so. Let us join hands and work together to combat crime in unity,’ he said.

Oshana Regional Commander Naftal Lungameni Sakaria indicated that if the vision of a crime-free region is to be realised, efforts by all stakeholders to
combat crime should be combined.

According to Sakaria, the police made a significant dent in crime in the region through their ‘boots on the ground’ initiative.

He said robberies after people withdraw money from commercial banks have for instance become a thing of the past, while housebreaking incidents have also decreased.

‘Despite our success, we still have challenges of mobility. The procurement process also takes forever and we have a lack of manpower as many police officers are aging,’ he said.

He added that they are also challenged by a lack of police facilities in the region, which leads to congestion at the available police stations. Another issue is that police cells are overcrowded.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency