Kutlwano Police Record 25 Rape Cases

KOPANO OLESITSE
Correspondent | Monday October 26, 2009 00:00

The crime statistics also show that from July to September this year, the station recorded 49 cases of burglary and theft; 32 house breakings; 15 robberies; one motor vehicle theft as well as 27 cases of motor break-in.

Assistant Superintendent Alec Marula of Kutlwano Police, said that some of the cases reported are dropped by complainants.

'Normally the cases that are being dropped include disputes between lovers, married couples as well as close family members.

Also we look at the evidence at hand, if one reports a case and if there's not enough evidence, we drop the case,' said Marula.

He added that people have the right to solve cases at home after reporting them to the police. 'We're human beings, so we all make mistakes,' he added.

Marula said in his station, they have never had any unlawful detention of suspects. He added that in some cases, the Directorate on Public Prosecutions (DPP) refers some cases back to them for further investigation. 'The DPP may point out some mistakes in some cases that may need to be thoroughly investigated but in general our cases succeed at the courts,' added Marula.

However, some people complain that the police take too long to respond to reporting calls.

President Ncqube, 28, a Francistown resident, reported a case of theft last month. 'The way I was handled was not satisfactory at all because it was not investigated. I hope the police improve their service delivery in future,' said Ncqube.

Jester Mphinyane, 41, of Jakalasi No.1 was satisfied with the way her case was handled.
'All my house furniture was stolen but as I speak now, more than half of my furniture was found. I am satisfied because the police took me seriously,' said Mphinyane.

One man from Gumare, who preferred anonymity, said that when he reported an attempted murder case last year, the police only arrived after three hours.

'This is in a case in which the suspect was pointing a loaded gun at people only waiting to pull the trigger. Right now the case has since been dropped and that suspect is still roaming the village,' he said.

'We understand that in some instances, it may take too long when we're called to the scene of crime but our attendance depends on the type and number of cases that we receive. At times we have to weigh reported cases to see which one requires quick attention,' said Marula.

He said cases of murder and rape will have to be attended immediately as compared to burglary or assault cases, stressing that they have limited resources.