Addressing the media at Police Headquarters in Gaborone yesterday, Commissioner of Police Thebeyame Tsimako, however, said that rape cases have decreased compared to last year but the situation is still a source of concern especially that there is the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The fast cars that the youth buy in large numbers have also claimed many lives in the past year. He said that 417 people, most of them youth, have died on the country's roads since the beginning of the year, an increase of 16 compared to the previous year.

He said that the youth drive their cars at top speed, resulting in fatal accidents.
This happens despite the heavy fines imposed recently on traffic offenders after the Road Traffic Act was amended. 

 As the festive season approaches, with increasing reports of home invasions and street robberies, the police chief advised business people to avoid keeping large sums of money at homes and business premises.

"This advice is triggered by an upsurge in the frequency of armed robberies, breaking into motor vehicles and home invasions targeting businesses and entrepreneurs. This often results in loss of large sums of money, injury or even loss of life," he said.The commissioner said that they are concerned by the number of incidents where explosives have been used to break into shops or blow up safes and Auto Teller Machines (ATMs).

He said they are making all efforts to identify the source of the explosives in order to effectively arrest the situation. Tsimako said that though Botswana has mining operations where explosives are used, police investigations have revealed that the explosives used in blasting ATMs are not from the mines."Another disturbing trend is the increase in theft of computers, laptops and cameras. This negative development is attributable to the availability of a ready market for stolen items. This market can be halted if Batswana refrain from buying suspected stolen goods, which are usually sold at give-away prices.

"May I take this opportunity to advise Batswana to take a bold step by denying these criminals the market by refraining from buying goods from the streets," he said.

Tsimako hailed communities for helping the police in crime prevention through community policing clusters."We will be implementing new and innovative methods of effectively dealing with crime during this festive season. The intention is to see a significant reduction in criminal activity by January 2010.

"This is not going to be easy but I am convinced that with the right attitude from us and support from the community, we will succeed," he said.

The Botswana Police Service chief said that he is aware of the fact that some of his officers apply underhand tactics like ill-treating suspects.

"My promise to Batswana is that we will continue to address all allegations of police brutality without pampering any of our officers. We shall also continue to educate our officers to improve the way they handle their customers," he said.