Police recognise neighbourhood watches
Neighbourhood watches active in the capital and the entire Khomas Region this weekend, along with the Namibian police, paraded through Independence Avenue in Windhoek to show their commitment in combating crime.
They marched to the City of Windhoek's head office and thereafter, proceeded to the Israel Patrick Iyambo Police College where they were formally recognised by the Namibian police.
Hundreds of volunteers across the region, who do patrols at night to protect their neighbourhoods against crime, enjoyed a day of camaraderie and recognition.
Rassie Erasmus, a member of the Academia neighbourhood watch said the event was of paramount importance. He says it has been six years in the making and is a very welcome event for the differernt groups.
“This day is not only about Academia but about the neighbourhood watches in the entire Khomas,” he said.
“We were officially recognised and the Namibian police have reached out to us. Everything is in place and legal now and this is a milestone for us. This is a day that our children will learn about in history,” he said.
According to Heinie Coetzee, a member of one of the four Khomasdal neighbourhood watch groups also expressed his excitement.
“This is a good day for us. Sometimes, when we are on patrol, people tell us that it means nothing but now, with this recognition by the police, we are determined to continue doing the work we do.”
He added that the neighbourhood watches enjoy support from the authorities and both the police and the City Police respond very quickly when they are called to an incident. He added that his group is only a year old, having been established in October last year, but, that they have already succeeded in fencing off an access point to a river in their neighbourhood that was frequented by criminals.
“In the past, there was a lot of theft from both homes and vehicles in our neighbourhood and cell phones were being grabbed in broad daylight on the street. But now, there is no place for them to run away to and this has improved safety in our neighbourhood. They know we are there,” he said.
AUGETTO GRAIG
They marched to the City of Windhoek's head office and thereafter, proceeded to the Israel Patrick Iyambo Police College where they were formally recognised by the Namibian police.
Hundreds of volunteers across the region, who do patrols at night to protect their neighbourhoods against crime, enjoyed a day of camaraderie and recognition.
Rassie Erasmus, a member of the Academia neighbourhood watch said the event was of paramount importance. He says it has been six years in the making and is a very welcome event for the differernt groups.
“This day is not only about Academia but about the neighbourhood watches in the entire Khomas,” he said.
“We were officially recognised and the Namibian police have reached out to us. Everything is in place and legal now and this is a milestone for us. This is a day that our children will learn about in history,” he said.
According to Heinie Coetzee, a member of one of the four Khomasdal neighbourhood watch groups also expressed his excitement.
“This is a good day for us. Sometimes, when we are on patrol, people tell us that it means nothing but now, with this recognition by the police, we are determined to continue doing the work we do.”
He added that the neighbourhood watches enjoy support from the authorities and both the police and the City Police respond very quickly when they are called to an incident. He added that his group is only a year old, having been established in October last year, but, that they have already succeeded in fencing off an access point to a river in their neighbourhood that was frequented by criminals.
“In the past, there was a lot of theft from both homes and vehicles in our neighbourhood and cell phones were being grabbed in broad daylight on the street. But now, there is no place for them to run away to and this has improved safety in our neighbourhood. They know we are there,” he said.
AUGETTO GRAIG
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