Farmers embrace tech to fight crime
Theft damages amount to millions
Farmers and anti-crime groups devote many hours to fighting crime.
The Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU), under the banner of the Joint Crime Prevention Forum (JCPF), is in the process of developing an application to gather comprehensive information on crime on farms.
NAU president Thinus Pretorius said the app will be used to collect data on the types of crimes occurring across the country. Additionally, the app will be used to create profiles of investigators and prosecutors working on cases, as well as profiles of suspected criminals.
"We may potentially obtain profiles of criminals and identify them using artificial intelligence (AI). I am very excited about this development. We want to be part of the solution and always stay one step ahead of crime," said Pretorius.
Working together
He said individual farmers and anti-crime groups invest a lot of time and effort in fighting crime.
"We are personally exposed, and many working hours are dedicated to this, with some farmers saying they have to allocate up to 80% of their time to combat crime. This is an action that the country's constitution guarantees the government will provide for you," he said.
He added that the forum had previously signed a cooperation agreement with the Namibian Police and expressed gratitude for the support received from the Namibian Police inspector-general, Joseph Shikongo. He pointed out that about 40 individual crime prevention forums are already coordinated under the JCPF.
Millions damaged
Meanwhile, Gunther Kahl, a farmer from the Kalkfeld area, told the congress that data on farm theft should be reported to the NAU so that it can be collected at a central point and statistics can be generated. According to statistics from the Kalkfeld area, which are continuously monitored, livestock and game theft, as well as the theft of solar pumps, have increased by as much as 40% since January of this year. Damages to the area since the beginning of the year are estimated at around N$2 million.
NAU president Thinus Pretorius said the app will be used to collect data on the types of crimes occurring across the country. Additionally, the app will be used to create profiles of investigators and prosecutors working on cases, as well as profiles of suspected criminals.
"We may potentially obtain profiles of criminals and identify them using artificial intelligence (AI). I am very excited about this development. We want to be part of the solution and always stay one step ahead of crime," said Pretorius.
Working together
He said individual farmers and anti-crime groups invest a lot of time and effort in fighting crime.
"We are personally exposed, and many working hours are dedicated to this, with some farmers saying they have to allocate up to 80% of their time to combat crime. This is an action that the country's constitution guarantees the government will provide for you," he said.
He added that the forum had previously signed a cooperation agreement with the Namibian Police and expressed gratitude for the support received from the Namibian Police inspector-general, Joseph Shikongo. He pointed out that about 40 individual crime prevention forums are already coordinated under the JCPF.
Millions damaged
Meanwhile, Gunther Kahl, a farmer from the Kalkfeld area, told the congress that data on farm theft should be reported to the NAU so that it can be collected at a central point and statistics can be generated. According to statistics from the Kalkfeld area, which are continuously monitored, livestock and game theft, as well as the theft of solar pumps, have increased by as much as 40% since January of this year. Damages to the area since the beginning of the year are estimated at around N$2 million.
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