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Tshesebe station commander, Superintendent Mojaboswa Mathitha, told Mmegi this week that they continue to test new strategies in an endeavour to curb crime in the villages that they police. "Initially, there was a single crime prevention committee within our area of policing. When we later did our introspection, we realised that there was a need for each of the villages within our area of jurisdiction to have its own crime prevention committee," said Mathitha. Each ward crime prevention committee has a police officer attached to it. In the villages of Moroka, Ramokgwebana and Jackalas-One, where cases of house breaking and theft were common, the introduction of ward crime prevention committees has assisted greatly as there was a sudden decline in the cases of house breaking and theft. One of the contributing factors to the rise in crime relates to the departure of members of the Special Support Group (SSG) who had camps along the border. Mathitha said that the army currently patrols the border areas. To ensure effective patrols, the police here have working committees with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) through which they do joint border patrols. "These things are helping a lot as even the illegal immigrants are aware of our patrols now since we increased our visibility," he said. The customary and the magistrate courts are another platform that brings various government departments together to strategise on combating crime. The forum consists of the departments of Botswana Police, Botswana Defence Force (BDF), Botswana Local Police, Botswana Unified Revenue Services, Social Workers and Court Clerks. "We come together to fight crime that is prevalent in this area," he said, and added that among others, the stakeholders look at bottlenecks that prevent departments from delivering and get rid of them. He explained that unlike in other border areas, cross-border cattle rustling was not common along the areas that fall within his jurisdiction. Instead, the station commander's worry is the influx of illegal immigrants. " As partners, we have come up with an action plan in which we are targeting illegal immigrants. We are targeting those that jump over the border and those that enter the country legally and then illegally remain. The stakeholders are also targeting those that are employed without proper documents. In every quarter, we have set our targets for clean up campaigns targeting illegals". Tutume police station commander, Superintendent Stephen Kebaitse, acknowledges that his men continue to work very hard in an attempt to control movement of illegal immigrants within their area of jurisdiction that includes the villages of Maitengwe, where Botswana cattle are frequently smuggled to neighbouring Zimbabwe. He called on Batswana to desist from harbouring illegal immigrants and using them to steal from others. "We should revert to our old traditional ways of introducing foreigners to the village elders like chiefs so that some of the undesirable elements could not find their way through the society," he appealed. He stressed that his officers are going to continue screening suspicious persons, as already the country is going through hardships because of some of the illegals. Kebaitse warned the immigrants to be on the lookout as his men are going to do whatever is within their powers to uproot them from the people that harbour them. "We have started addressing farmers around the cattle posts and lands so that they also appreciate the provisions of the law. "We are engaged in the process of reinvigorating the crime prevention committees to make them more effective so that they can become our first line of combating crime". One of the things that prompted Botswana police to address residents along the border villages was to warn people about the possibility of trampling on grenades and other explosives. The police suspect that the explosives were used during the Zimbabwe liberation war. "Batswana should not follow their stolen goods across the border as the consequences of doing so could be very bad". In Matsiloje, the police station commander, Superintendent Boifang Tome, said his officers arrest illegal immigrants every day. He was, however, elated that villagers now work closely with them and report people that they reasonably believe to be illegals living among them. "We continue to arrest some and miss others. When we follow their tracks, they all lead to the border with Zimbabwe," explains Tome. He added that the police do everything to show their presence, but was worried that there are still those that evade arrest. The police are happy that the presence of the military was really adding value to their policing around Matsiloje." We mount roadblocks with the military and it is really bearing fruit now". Matsiloje police are also working hard to catch the culprits that continue to cut the cordon fence and smuggle cattle across.
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