Kgathi urges senior police officers on
Siyabonga Gaetshajwe | Wednesday April 10, 2019 11:01
Kgathi said this on Tuesday, when officially opening the 47th Annual Senior Officers Conference held at the Special Support Group (SSG) Band Wing Hall.
Kgathi told senior officers that the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security is a model that other countries want to benchmark on when it comes to expenditure of resources and facilities that the organisation needs.
“I am happy to say that strategies are being implemented to cripple the ever changing methods used by syndicate criminals thus forcing the organisation to redefine its benchmarking,” Kgathi said.
He noted that there were still members of the public who do not abide by road signs despite the Botswana Police Service (BPS) and the Motor Vehicle Accident’s (MVA) efforts to achieve reduced road accidents in the now and in the future.
“If you drive at a speed of 120km/hr then a 65-seater bus overtakes you, it is a clear sign that the driver is carelessly putting innocent lives at risk,” he said.
Kgathi added that he has tabled a motion to amend for the law on cyber crime as people used various media platforms to assassinate others’ characters and also use social platforms as a tool to advertise illegal drugs.
Police Commissioner Keabetswe Makgophe commended Kgathi in his endeavors to make sure that BPS’ commitment to deliver effectively on its mandate of ensuring safer and secure communities for the year 2019 and beyond was achievable.
“The approval of the establishment of the 5th Police Division in Maun and the 17th Police District in Shakawe, effective this financial year is a welcome development. Two new branches have been established with effect from April 1, 2019, being Cyber Forensics and International Relations,” Makgophe said.
The commissioner also said that out of the 25 funded police posts, 11 (Tsetsebjwe, Tumasera, Sefhophe, Nkange, Mathangwane, Borolong, Tati Siding, Lecheng, Sefhare, Ramokgonami and Moiyabana) have been completed and officially handed over for occupation.
“We are convinced that crime is still under control in Botswana, having managed to reduce total crime by two percent in 2018 as compared to 2017. During the same comparative period, Penal Code offences recorded a slight increase of one percent whilst other offences went down by three percent,” Makgophe said.
He indicated that a further analysis depicts a 10% reduction in violent and intrusive crimes (break-ins and robbery) and a six percent increase in serious crimes.
“The specific crimes that went up in this category, which we should closely tackle, are Threat-to-kill (23%), stock-theft and theft of motor vehicles (eight percent),” Makgophe said.
“We have since 2018 embarked on operations targeting drugs and stock theft with positive results. The stock theft operation code named Kgomokhumo has so far covered parts of Ngwaketse, Barolong, Kweneng, Kgatleng, Ngwato and Tswapong areas,” Makgophe said.
Makgophe added he was happy to note community support and contribution in the form of volunteering important information pertaining to the commission of these crimes, which has contributed to the many arrests we have made.
He said: “To this end, I want to assure Batswana of our steadfast commitment to continue to serve with passion, humility and the highest level of professionalism”.