Police urge caution ahead of Easter
As Easter holidays celebrations are upon us it is usually common for people to let their guard down as they celebrate but this is the time criminals also take advantage of the situation and rob people of their valuables and hard earned money, Mmegi Staff Writer PINI BOTHOKO observes
During this period it is becoming too common to go from having a great time with loved ones and ending up in tragic situations. It is during holidays such as this that we experience mishaps like road accidents and theft, robberies and other violent crimes.
As people will be travelling to different destinations, this calls for vigilance both at home and on the roads as traffic rises at this time of the year. Due to the situation, Police have pleaded with members of the public to guard themselves from falling victims of crime. In an interview with Mmegi, Botswana Police Service’s (BPS) public relations officer, Assistant Commissioner Dipheko Motube warned that when people are celebrating, getting together as family and friends during the holidays, accidents, arrests and fatalities go up. “We are always ready for anything that might come up. We will be distributing resources to match the situation that is brought up about by the holidays and I can confirm that we will be prepared. Travellers should expect road blocks, stop and search starting from today (Friday),” he said.
Motube conceded to be faced with shortage of manpower but stated that through the use of technology like safer city cameras they will aid policing of cities ahead of the holidays. He called on the public to take care of their property by always leaving someone behind when travelling for holidays especially that house breaking and home invasions remain a concern.
He pleaded with the public to strengthen the neighbourhood watch committees as part of their effort to fight the escalating crime rate.
He added that through public education they have been encouraging residents to also introduce what he called citizen patrol to meet the police half way and help curb crime.
“The idea is to have zero tolerance toward crime. We have been pleading with the public for the spirit of neighbourhood watches in every community to be revived. This is the time that everyone is in need of money even criminals will do anything to have money, some will be masquerading as police officers to swindle people hence pleading with everyone to exercise caution,” he said.
Moreover, he cautioned the public over irresponsible use of cyber space as they have the habit of advertising their daily lives, routines on social media to a point of posting their movements on Facebook.
“Criminals are also on Facebook and if you post informing your followers where you will be spending the holidays they would be watching and would take advantage of your absence,” he said.
Motube alerted people of a new trend in which criminals block people in parking spots especially at entertainment places and later offer them help to get the car out of that squeezed parking only to run away with the car.
“We have been recording a string of these cases in Francistown and some of those cars have not yet been recovered. It seems like our efforts fall into deaf ears as people also continue to lose lots of money being swindled by fraudsters,” he said.
He added that since the majority of the people are travelling, road carnages are on the rise and they should be avoided at all costs. Motube said during Easter holidays just like other holidays, so many precious lives are lost in the roads but that can be avoided if motorists obey traffic signs and respect each other on the roads.
He stated that motorists’ attitude towards key road safety issues such as over speeding, drink driving, risk overtaking remains a major road safety concern. He however stated to be pleased that road blocks would be all over the major roads to protect lives and take action against law breakers.
“Speed limits are not obeyed and road signs continue to be ignored. Some of the accidents could be easily avoided if road users could exercise patience and pay more attention to road traffic signs and regulations. Speeding remains the leading cause factor as young drivers like to compete on the road and overtake unnecessarily,” he said.
Regarding the loud music played in some bars and other joints, Motube warned owners and the general public to stop disturbing other people’s peace.
Furthemore Motube said they also record high cases of rape and murder during this period. He cautioned women who are usually more vulnerable as compared to their counterparts to be cautious when having fun. He stated that usually the perpetrators take advantage of women’s intoxication and such perpetrators are often casual friends, or individuals who victims are familiar with.
“They would on the fateful day had spent some time with their victims, entertaining them, showering them with goodies, and later demanded sex in return. I am pleading with women to budget for their entertainment and stop depending on strangers they meet at the bar,” Motube said.