adminSpeaking to journalists on the sidelines of the 2012 Zimbabwe Republic Police provincial promotional parade in Masvingo on Wednesday, Assistant Commissioner Connel Dube said it was worrying that cases of poaching were on the increase adding that conservancies like Save Conservancy had already lost more animals this year, as compared to the previous year and yet the year had not come to an end.
“As police in Masvingo we have managed to contain some crimes like robbery, burglary and murder this year but we are worried about cases of poaching which continue to dog us. To date we received information to the effect that 11 rhinos have been killed by poachers and that is cause for grave concern because we are in the middle of the year. Last year only eight rhinos were killed and I mean for the whole year,” said Asst Comm Dube.
He said police were found wanting in trying to curb crime in the province because of lack of manpower adding that they were looking forward to having more vacant ranks filled by officers.
Asst Comm Dube who was the guest of honour said the province had 2 200 officers against a demand of 3 000 officers in order to achieve a ratio of one officer per every 500 people.
“The promotion of officers to various ranks is meant to help the force in fighting crime and after this promotion we expect service delivery to improve. However, we are found wanting in some instances due to manpower shortages. We want to curb cases of poaching, which have given conservancy operators sleepless nights, and we can only achieve that if we have enough manpower.
“We still need some more officers and that is the reason why you see that there are female officers that we have. We will endeavour to have more women and we have made it a policy that every training or promotion we also have women. In the past many women were reluctant to join the force and we will continue encouraging them to join the force through our community liaison office,” he said.
Asst Comm Dube thanked community members who have assisted them in times of need.
“I would want to thank the community for their unwavering support and I urge them to continue with their philanthropic gesture. We have stations built by community members and some of them have received vehicles to use and as police we are grateful to have supportive community members. I say, let’s continue with such good relations so that we can successfully fight crime in the province,” he said.
Online Reporter