05 Jun 2022

Gender Based Violence is an area of great concern to Botswana as it threatens the future of the girl child and women in general.

Delivering a keynote address at the 10th National community policing clusters awards in Maun on Thursday the Minister of Defence and Security, Mr Kagiso Mmusi said cases of rape and assault were dominating police stations on a regular basis. 

He said perpetrators were often from the same area they committed the crimes and called on community policing to solidify their structures and help the police to identify the criminals. The minister applauded those who served in community cluster committees to help build a crime free Botswana.

 He said Botswana Police Service had evolved tremendously over the years through stakeholder collaborations, from Dikgosi, communities, NGOs, civil society and various sectors.

 “Many stakeholders have contributed immensely to the police service, playing a significant role in helping fight crime. And we do acknowledge that without an effective partnership crime would remain unsurmountable.’’ Minister Mmusi said the demand for police far exceeded the resources on the ground, especially transport.

However, he encouraged police officers and volunteers to continue striving for eradication of crime. 

The minister awarded trophies and certificates of appreciation to 17 individuals from all districts for their distinguished service in community policing. 

He also awarded District 14/ Kanye policing cluster for their excellence in community policing.

The national award for best performing division in crime reduction was won by the Southern Division.

Mogoditshane and Selebi Phikwe police stations were pronounced the best for excelling clusters, while Letlhakeng and Sir Seretse Khama International Airport came second and Maun police came third. 

In his remarks, The Acting Commissioner of Botswana Police Service (BPS), Mr Solomon Mantswe said in the past the success of policing in Botswana was dependent on sole efforts by the police, adding that rapid socio-economic growth brought multiple challenges that needed communities to play a part in policing. 

Mr Mantswe said crime prevention had improved overtime owing to a number of interventions such neighbourhood watch groups, business watch forum, youth outreach programmes and community cluster policing. 

He said communities assisted through neighbourhood patrols, and liaising with police to effect arrests, as well as application of modern technology to maximise security in homes and businesses. 

Mr Mantswe said there was a gap to be filled in addressing family issues. To that end the police service would be launching a family cluster initiative in the near future.

The cluster would help to prevent crime at family level by promoting dialogue within the family setup, he said. He added the other envisaged initiative was the ‘cartoon family’ which comprised age specific characters that would be used to disseminate crime prevention messages to targeted groups. 

He thanked communities for their participation and collaborations with police towards eliminating crime and ensuring a safe Botswana.

Maun East MP, Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile thanked the police for hosting the awards ceremony in Maun as that encouraged the tourism sector through lodging and provision of food. 

MP Kekgonegile to improve efforts towards fighting cybercrime, which he said was getting out of hand. Batawana deputy chief, Kgosi Leretetse Mogalakwe thanked BPS for introducing police clusters, which he said were effective in fighting crime in communities. 

Kgosi Mogalakwe said criminals were now using technology to swindle ignorant people especially the elderly. 

He also said stock theft remained a major concern in Ngamiland with thieves using technology to create counterfeit cattle ear tags. Ends