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 today.
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.
//Hoëbeb said NamPol has a strategic plan in place, which serves as a guiding tool to successfully combat crime, but despite the best efforts, violent offences like assault, rape and domestic violence are still common in the region.
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.
The Secretary-General of the Trade Union Congress of Namibia (Tucna), Mahongora Kavihuha, has described the polygraph testing conducted at Woermann and Brock retail shops in the capital as inhumane and illegal.
All contract employees at Woermann Brock Hyper in Khomasdal today had to undergo such tests to find out if they are honest, trustworthy and reliable before they could be employed on a permanent basis.
Kavihuha told Nampa today that it is disrespect for human dignity, as no employee was informed of the test before, adding that even if it is part of the contract agreement, employees do not know the reason for the test.
He said one of the employees was allegedly dismissed today after completing the test, with no reasons provided for his dismissal.
Contacted for comment, one of the shop’s human resources’ (HR) officers, who refused to provide his name, said the polygraph test is part of a contract signed by all employees working for the shop on a temporary basis.