Thieves commit crime just for the fun of it - Lesetedi
Pini Bothoko | Monday October 31, 2022 06:00
Robbers wreak havoc despite the police’s determination to fight crime as criminals continue to find their way into businesses and make off with large sums of money. However, some Batswana across social media platforms have been attributing the alarming rise in crime to the country’s high unemployment rate, especially amongst the youth of the same age group that has been identified as problematic.
Some blame poverty and poor living conditions to have forced many people to resort to crime to improve their lives. Others are of the view that many people are dissatisfied with their lives hence, want more.
However, when quizzed about what motivate criminals to repeatedly commit certain crimes by Mmegi, the Director of Crime Intelligence, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Nunu Lesetedi had a different opinion as he stated that most thieves commit crime just for the fun in their quest to get rich fast and become famous.
Despite acknowledging that reasons may vary on why people commit crime, Lesetedi said some of the reasons have always existed like greed and economic distress. He added that the arrival of technology has also played a major role in aiding criminals to commit more sophisticated crime and increased its effectiveness.
“In their quest to make quick money, criminals nowadays use technology to learn ways to commit crime. They watch videos of cash-in-transit heists, ATM blasting online and imitate those in an effort to make quick cash. There is a worrisome upsurge to get rich amongst the youth because they would have a successful robbery but continue engaging in criminal activities just for the fun of it and live a luxurious life,” said Lesetedi.
Moreover, Lesetedi said the issue of peer pressure is one of the reasons that most criminals always give when interrogated by the police. He said one would start committing crime to make quick cash, buy expensive cars, wear expensive clothes and own things that his age mates have.
The police boss said even if a person gets arrested a week later the police always find them broke because they would have splashed money showing off to their peers proving a point.
“For example the Shoshong native, Mahudiri Ofithile who was recently shot and killed in an exchange of fire with the police, he was popularly known as ‘Ntela o itele’ splashing money buying people alcohol. This goes on to show you the kind of lifestyle he was living despite having had that money through risky criminal ways,” he said.
The senior police officer went on to state that despite having acquired the said money riskly, such criminals have the habit of posting the stolen money on social media.
“I want young people to know that there is no short cut to being wealthy without hard work. Criminals should know that crime does not pay because they are on the streets and we are also on the streets we will catch up with them. Crime is a risky job because some criminals got killed and some are left with permanent injuries,” he said.
Additionally, Lesetedi revealed to have established that the majority of criminals are womanisers with the habit of enticing women with money.
In responding to this scourge, Lesetedi revealed that they are working with banks to see how best they can eliminate ATM blasting cases. He said the majority of ATM machines are standing alone hence an easy target to criminals.
“It would be better if people could use access cards in order to get into ATM premises. These cases remain a concern because explosive attacks on ATMs have been on the rise with robbers persistently getting away with large sums of money something that threatens the banking business,” he said.
Lesetedi said there is a syndicate of young criminals terrorising businesses in Botswana even neighbouring countries but their partnership with their police counterparts in the neighbouring countries is bearing fruits. He revealed to have made breakthrough in most cross border crime incidents because of their partnership with other local security agents like members of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS).
“These criminals might be hitting us but we are doing everything we can to monitor the situation. Everyone should be on the lookout as such cases are likely to spiral out of control as the festive season approaches because everyone wants to spend their festive season loaded with cash,” Lesetedi said.