Namibians feel unsafe
Namibians polled by an international organisation say they don't feel safe walking the streets.
Namibia is ranked as one of the worst countries when it comes to law and order.
The global polling group Gallup has published the results of its latest poll investigation of crime and policing in 142 countries.
Overall Namibia ranked 119th, with a law and order score of 65. This ranking made Namibia the 23rd worst in the world and fourth worst in southern Africa.
Gallup conducted over 1 000 face-to-face and telephonic interviews, with a total of 148 000 responses.
The group asked people about the level of crime in their area, how safe they felt walking the streets and how much confidence they had in the police force.
Gallup then compiled the results into scores and created an index ranking each country by its overall law and order score.
“Gallup sees strong relationships between people's answers to questions about their own security and their own experiences with crime and law enforcement and external measures related to economic and social development,” the group said.
“These relationships illustrate how high crime rates can often suppress social cohesion and negatively affect economic performance.”
The lowest ranked countries on the index are Liberia, Gabon, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Venezuela. The top performers are Singapore, Norway, Iceland, Finland and Uzbekistan.
While the Gallup poll is a perceptions index, an overview of what Namibians think and experience, the increasing crime rate in the country is well documented.
This month the police said they had recorded 49 000 criminal cases between March and August this year, with murder, robbery and car theft on the rise.
According to the police, crime has been rising for the past five years. More than 22 800 cases were reported between March and May this year, while between June and August, the police recorded more than 26 400 cases.
According to police statistics cellphone theft increased by 29.5%, murder by 9.5%, robbery by 36.2%, theft of motor vehicles by 34.4% and stock theft by 21.4%.
On the plus side, there has been a 49% decline in common assault, a 7.9% drop in assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and a 2.2% drop in rape cases over the past five years.
The regions most affected by crime over the last two months were Khomas, Otjozondjupa, Erongo and Oshana.
Meanwhile, the Numbeo Crime Index, which is also based on survey responses, ranks Namibia as one of only three African nations in the top 20 most dangerous countries. South Africa, Namibia and Nigeria are all ranked ahead of war-torn nations like Afghanistan and Syria in this index.
According to Gallup, the majority of people expressed fair confidence in their police and felt secure in their countries.
One in eight respondents (13%) said they had property stolen from them or another household member in the past year, and 5% said they were assaulted or mugged.
ELLANIE SMIT
The global polling group Gallup has published the results of its latest poll investigation of crime and policing in 142 countries.
Overall Namibia ranked 119th, with a law and order score of 65. This ranking made Namibia the 23rd worst in the world and fourth worst in southern Africa.
Gallup conducted over 1 000 face-to-face and telephonic interviews, with a total of 148 000 responses.
The group asked people about the level of crime in their area, how safe they felt walking the streets and how much confidence they had in the police force.
Gallup then compiled the results into scores and created an index ranking each country by its overall law and order score.
“Gallup sees strong relationships between people's answers to questions about their own security and their own experiences with crime and law enforcement and external measures related to economic and social development,” the group said.
“These relationships illustrate how high crime rates can often suppress social cohesion and negatively affect economic performance.”
The lowest ranked countries on the index are Liberia, Gabon, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Venezuela. The top performers are Singapore, Norway, Iceland, Finland and Uzbekistan.
While the Gallup poll is a perceptions index, an overview of what Namibians think and experience, the increasing crime rate in the country is well documented.
This month the police said they had recorded 49 000 criminal cases between March and August this year, with murder, robbery and car theft on the rise.
According to the police, crime has been rising for the past five years. More than 22 800 cases were reported between March and May this year, while between June and August, the police recorded more than 26 400 cases.
According to police statistics cellphone theft increased by 29.5%, murder by 9.5%, robbery by 36.2%, theft of motor vehicles by 34.4% and stock theft by 21.4%.
On the plus side, there has been a 49% decline in common assault, a 7.9% drop in assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and a 2.2% drop in rape cases over the past five years.
The regions most affected by crime over the last two months were Khomas, Otjozondjupa, Erongo and Oshana.
Meanwhile, the Numbeo Crime Index, which is also based on survey responses, ranks Namibia as one of only three African nations in the top 20 most dangerous countries. South Africa, Namibia and Nigeria are all ranked ahead of war-torn nations like Afghanistan and Syria in this index.
According to Gallup, the majority of people expressed fair confidence in their police and felt secure in their countries.
One in eight respondents (13%) said they had property stolen from them or another household member in the past year, and 5% said they were assaulted or mugged.
ELLANIE SMIT
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