In an effort to provide safety for Batswana living in the Greater Gaborone, the Botswana Police Service last December introduced the City Policing Unit. Barely four months since the unit was ushered in, it is already proving to be a good move by the police service. The City Policing initiative has been lauded for being proactive, and even receiving praises from police station commanders, The Monitor Staffer Pini Bothoko observes
In recent times, crime of an intrusive nature such as home invasion, burglary, housebreaking and theft, including violent crimes such as robbery, cash-in-transit, and ATM blasting have become the order of the day in villages, towns, and cities across the country. In some instances, lives have been lost and valuable properties stolen.
The escalating crime rate forced the Minister of Defence and Security, Kagiso Mmusi, to introduce an initiative that would bring down the crime rate in Botswana. Hence, the City Policing was launched and ever since the City Policing Unit was introduced, crime has relatively reduced.
The police intervention has even received good reviews from social media skeptics for bringing crime down in the affected areas. Before it was introduced, police officers were seemingly failing to contain petty crimes such as smash and grab, and pickpocketing. Criminals in this form of crime targeted motorists’ vehicles at speed bumps and traffic lights during congestion, especially at night. Those retiring to their homes were also targeted at their residential gates. Moreover, people alighting from public transport, particularly women were attacked whilst walking at night.
The victims would have their handbags snatched and their money, laptops, phones and other valuables taken, something that also put their lives at risk as they would get assaulted should they resist. Lives were in danger as thieves harassed residents day and night taking away even the smallest freedoms such as a simple walk down the street at any time of the day. The criminality had established in areas regarded as hot spots. The usual suspects were profiled as young men in their 20s or younger, unemployed, and dependent on theft for survival.
These perpetrators usually wielded weapons that included knives, pair of scissors, or others to threaten targets and in some instances stab victims just to rob them of their valuables. With crime so rampant in the Greater Gaborone, homes were no longer a haven as the perpetrators would find a way to break in. Years ago, to curb the scourge, police encouraged residents to form community neighbourhood watch teams. However, that still could not contain crime until city policing was introduced. Before thieves would case neighbourhoods to pick a target and later at night attack and rob them.
In Tlokweng several families were attacked, with women and girls getting raped before they were robbed, leaving the police hopeful, not knowing how to contain Greater Gaborone's escalating crime. Days before Mmusi took the matter into his hands, the Minister of Health and Wellness, Edwin Dikoloti was attacked by criminals at traffic lights in the notorious Extension 27, Gaborone. His vehicle was attacked, its windows smashed, and he was left with scratch wounds from a sharp object. Quizzed about this quick response unit, Broadhurst Police Station commander, Superintendent Obusitswe Lokae said even though the coverage of the unit in his area is a bit vast the department has relatively reduced crime in his policing area.
Lokae revealed that for years he was troubled by petty crime, especially in Extension 27, Extension 16, Tsholofelo East, Phakalane, Gaborone North, Block 3 and other parts of Broadhurst. He explained that residents were attacked by residential gates while arriving at night, walking in the streets, at the traffic lights and road humps, or in the comfort of their homes. Since the arrival of the unit, the cases have drastically dropped. “City policing is bearing fruits already because they are always on the ground doing patrols and they have resources unlike us in stations.
"They respond on time to reports and since they took over they manage to interrupt crimes before they could occur. It is an important unit and we applaud the Defence minister to have introduced it,” Lokae said. Lokae said the unit covers three zones in his area targeting hot spots in Block 3, Tsholofelo East and West, Gaborone North, Phakalane, and Oodi which are prone to crimes such as home invasions, robbery, housebreaking, and theft. The Monitor has previously covered such cases to highlight the weekend patterns and build public awareness, but since the arrival of city policing, the cases have dropped to almost nil compared to the past. Sharing the same sentiments, Gaborone Central Police Station commander, Superintendent Sharpson Mbuso praised city policing, expressing confidence that the unit has had a positive impact on public safety and security since its inception. “There has been a noticeable decrease in the crime rate in the city since the launch of the City Police Unit in December 2023. The unit aims to protect the general public and create a safer environment in the cities and towns," Mbuso said.
"They respond to reports on time because they are always on the ground waiting for reports. We used to be troubled by cash-in-transit heists, and robbery in major supermarkets but they have relatively reduced to recoding zero cases since the beginning of the year." Mbuso said the unit covers crime-prone areas like Maruapula which used to be troubled by home invasions, motor vehicle theft and robbery. “We only recently had a housebreaking case in which goods at the value of P88,000 were stolen after criminals broke into a dwelling which is also used as an office and walked away with laptops, phones and other electronic gadgets. "We suspect that the criminals might have been monitoring their movements pleading with the public to install security devices and make sure that they arm them before they leave,” Mbuso said.
Tlokweng and Mogoditshane police station commanders, Superintendent Unoziba Rari and Boemo Bok recently praised the unit stating that police visibility on the ground has improved both during the day and at night, positively impacting in the reduction of crime. The police bosses said while previously it was common for residents to get attacked while walking in the streets, the arrival of City Policing has led to a reduction in such cases, as more people felt safe. Moreover, they disclosed that in the past, businesses were not spared by criminals who staged robberies at gunpoint, a situation which had since improved.