11 Sep 2018

In an effort to curb rising crime rate in the area of Selepa in Francistown, the area’s fight crime committee over the weekend de-bushed some parts of the area.

Committee chairperson, Ms Yolanda Hutton said the bushes were a breeding ground for criminals who ambushed innocent passersby at night, robbing them of their valuable belongings before disappearing into the bush.

“We have had numerous reports of stabbings and house break-ins and today, with the assistance of our committee members and the community, we are de-bushing and trimming the grass.

We want visibility within the trees so that criminals have nowhere to hide after committing crime,” Ms Hutton said in an interview with BOPA.

She however decried the low turn-out of the residents despite having made numerous efforts to communicate the community service day as best as they could.

Constable Maria Boseja from Kutlwano Police Station in Francistown and also the crime prevention coordinator stated that Selepa had seen a rise in crime such as robbery, stealing from persons and house break-ins. 

As such she called on the community to show commitment to the de-bushing cause as it could bring about a decline in crimein their area.

She also implored them to attend Fight Crime Committee meetings to learn about ways of keeping safe and new strategies on community crime fighting.

“In order to succeed in clearing all these bushes in our area, we are going to need a lot of hands from everyone in our locality.

Our chairperson has been working hard to make this project a success for a crime-free Selepa and we need to support the initiatives particularly that she often use her resources,” Boseja said.

She also called on Batswana to utilise neighbourhood watch, encouraging neighbours to know one another because if they do not, criminals will take advantage of that to terrorise them. ENDS