Massive drop in crime rate

ELLANIE SMITWINDHOEK Namibia has recorded a huge drop in the number of serious crimes such as murders, attempted murders and rapes since the coronavirus state of emergency was introduced more than two months ago. Murders dropped by 23%, while attempted murders decreased by 32% and rapes by 82%. Assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm also declined massively. This is according to crime statistics analysed by the police and retrieved from daily incident reports from all 14 regions over a period of 136 days (68 days before and 68 days during the state of emergency period).These statistics indicated that overall, crime dropped from 1 639 incidents to 1 369 incidents, a decrease of 16.5%. Rape, murder, assaultRapes reported in the period before the state of emergency totalled 175 incidents, while 63 attempted murders and 51 murders were reported. Meanwhile, 68 days after the state of emergency was introduced, these incidents stood at 93, 31 and 28 respectively. The statistics indicate that assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm decreased from 503 reported incidents to 266. Police chief, Inspector-General Sebastian Ndeitunga, who announced the statistics on Monday, said the reduction in crime is attributed to more visibility by members of the security cluster during the state of emergency. He, however, added that some regions, like Erongo, //Karas, Oshikoto and Zambezi, recorded an increase in serious crimes such as housebreaking at business premises, fraud, stock theft and possession and/or dealing in drugs. New regulationsNdeitunga also released statistics on the contravention of the state of emergency lockdown regulations for stages one and two.Stage one started on 28 March and ended on 4 May, while stage two commenced on 4 May and ended on 2 June. Statistics show 1 108 people were fined for violating the alcohol prohibition regulation. According to Ndeitunga, this was the most violated regulation during both stages, with 734 people fined during the first stage and 374 in the second.The least violated regulation during stage one was the prohibition related to travel, for which 28 suspects were fined. During this period, 904 violations were recorded.Furthermore, 1 117 violations were recorded during stage two. The least violated regulation was the prohibition of entry into Namibia, with five suspects arrested.“Comparing the two stages, there is a significant reduction in contraventions of the regulations,” Ndeitunga said. Masks, public gatheringsMeanwhile, 37 people were fined for not wearing a mask during stage two, while 137 people were fined for violating the regulation on public gatherings. Another 39 people were fined for violating restrictions on certain businesses, operations and activities, and 29 for restrictions relating to goods and people. Ndeitunga said 17 people were also fined for giving false or misleading information to authorised officers, while 102 were fined for violating the restrictions on the number of people being conveyed in vehicles.

Massive drop in crime rate

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-30

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Massive drop in crime rate

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-30

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