CRIMINALS MONITOR MOVEMENTS
An operation to be launched tomorrow will see Police specifically target criminal activities this month
They study their targets before robberies: Qiliho
Our criminals are smarter, they are studying us as well and looking for gaps in what we’re doing to exploit it. There are people moving around that will jump at the opportunity to exploit that for their own gains. Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho Police Commissioner
Police Commissioner Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho has urged members of the public to take extra care during the festive season because criminals will carefully study their targets’ before executing robberies.
An operation to be launched tomorrow will see Police specifically target criminal activities this month. They expect the crime rate to rise and are taking steps to curb this and the activities of criminals.
“Our criminals are smarter, they are studying us as well and looking for gaps in what we’re doing to exploit it,” Brigadier-General Qiliho said.
“There are people moving around that will jump at the opportunity to exploit that for their own gains,” he said.
Overall crime statistics released yesterday by the Commissioner, showed that crime had decreased by one per cent compared to the same period last year. The statistics were calculated from the beginning of the year until November 30.
“So far, since the month of November, we haven’t had any major robbery or planned robberies. Most of the issues that have been happening were targets of opportunity,” Brigadier-General Qiliho said. “We’ve managed to keep criminals at bay and they’ll get desperate now for money and things they gain out of their criminal activities so we continue to ask members of the public to take care of themselves and their properties.”
Other notable figures presented by the Commissioner of Police included a 35 per cent increase in drug-related arrests. While robbery stats compiled from the last three years show aggravated robberies and robberies had decreased this year by 30 and 34 per cent respectively, he said.
The operation for the festive season is set to roll on for four weeks. Brigadier-General Qiliho has also stressed the risks of relying on the emergency line, 917.
“We’ve put out numbers of our command centres, please call those centres,” he said.
“If you have a Police Station close to you, my advice is to get the number of that Police Station rather than rely on the 917 number. It can be jammed at times.”
Police have recorded 67 fatalities on our roads this year, an increase of seven from the total number last year.
“I’ve told my officers the increase in the number of vehicles and drivers is not an excuse – we must work harder to keep the stats down,” the Police Commissioner said.
“Pedestrians and drivers need to look after themselves and other road users.”