WALVIS BAY: Crime in the Erongo Region has decreased by 18 per cent over the past seven months.

The Commissioner of the Namibian Police Force (NamPol) in the Erongo Region, Samuel //Hoëbeb, announced this during a media conference here on Wednesday.

Between January and July 2011, reported criminal activities such as housebreaking with intent to steal, theft out of motor-vehicles, rape and murder stood at 4 146 cases, while the figure over the same period this year stands at 3 602.

“NamPol has a strategic plan in place, which serves as a guiding tool to successfully combat crime,” said //Hoëbeb.

He said the reason why the Erongo Region has become prone to criminal activities is as a result of the influx of young people from mainly the rural areas to the major towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.

“Despite the best efforts, violent offences like assault, rape and domestic violence are still common in the region,” he added.

Since January 2012, NamPol embarked on strategies to reduce crime in the region.

The strategies in place include proactive crime prevention, which deals with all police operations intended to prevent crime before it takes place; community policing, which deals with securing the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law; and active participation in crime-combating efforts.

During the media briefing, NamPol displayed a series of weapons that were confiscated by NamPol from would-be criminals.

These were different types of knives, bolt-cutters and several remote control devices used to jam the signals of vehicle immobilisers that provide thieves easy entry into such vehicles with the purpose to steal items.

“These weapons are also used to hunt human beings. It is improper to hunt a fellow human being, like hunting animals in the wild,” //Hoëbeb stressed.

The Commissioner then appealed to the community to live in harmony with one another.