Suburban
Jeremiah Mudonha
TRUE to the old adage that “unity is power”, police in Harare have emphasised that robberies, burglaries and other related crimes can be contained if communities are united.
Commenting on the perennial problems of unlawful entry and theft cases (affectionately known as housebreaking and theft or burglaries) in Marlborough, Mabelreign and other western suburbs, Inspector Luckmore Julius Chakanza Harare Provincial Police spokesperson said residents should consider adopting a holistic approach in fighting crime, one which ideally involves and or takes into account every person, property and place within the spheres of the community.
“This is the direct opposite to a common practice whereby nobody cares about the security of others and the community in general.
“It may start from steps as simple as discussing crime problems with your neighbour to creating a community social media groups where ideas and strategies will be shared, refined and agreed upon before implementation.
“Experience shows that the more communities are united, the less crime problems they receive and the more criminals stay away from them.
“Criminals are easily detected and apprehended in such united communities due to maximum cooperation of the residents among themselves and with the police.
“Also characteristic of unity is that resources are pooled together with ease and bigger objectives like community patrols, gating and installation of electronic security systems are achievable.
“It is in this light that we implore residents to form and or resuscitate Neighborhood Watch Committees, which, among other things, are an insignia of collective community effort in solving crime problems as opposed to solely relying on individual efforts or waiting for the police to do everything.
“Visit your nearest police station and see our community relations and liaison officers for help on this important initiative. “We are looking forward to having united communities where residents become each other’s keeper and are concerned or participative in fighting crime,” he said.
A cross-section of interviewed residents seemed not to know their neighbours or care to unite with them in the near future, mainly out of mistrust and ignorance of the benefits of doing so.
Inasmuch as privacy matters, our staying together in one neighbourhood is a cause for unity.
“As neighbours, like it or not, we share similar crime problems which, if left unabated, may strike us all albeit in different degrees and times.
“The only way out is to decisively unite and effectively address our crime problems,” said Mrs Chauruka, a Borrowdale resident.
Normally, many people fall victim to burglaries in winter as they oversleep in reaction to cold spells.
Burglars normally target cash, valuables and household property.
In this case, residents should not leave their homes unattended when going out and should remain alert all the times given that criminals hit even in broad daylight.
