adminCrimes of concern such as armed robbery which had almost disappeared during the days of the now discontinued Zimbabwe dollar have resurfaced with a vengeance.
Sophisticated gangs of robbers are carrying out daring and audacious attacks on innocent civilians, sometimes robbing banks and supermarkets with clients inside.
Much as the police force has tried to be on top of the situation, cases of serious crime continue to be a cause for concern.
Crime has become widespread in Zimbabwe, from big cities to small towns and even rural areas.
Recently, police said there was an upsurge in robberies in the border town of Beitbridge and blamed this on the resumption of deportations by our southern neighbour.
Some of the deported Zimbabweans resort to crime to eke a living.
In remote areas, communal lands and farms where access to the police is very difficult, toiling farmers have lost their cattle to rustlers. Some of these cattle are never recovered because by the time police respond, the rustlers would have long covered their tracks.
In the wake of resurgence in violent crime, we commend calls by the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Misheck Sibanda, for the Zimbabwe Republic Police to stand firm against all sorts of crime.
“. . . the ZRP should remain resolute in safeguarding the sovereignty of our country as well as maintaining a firm stance against all forms of crime,” he said during a pass out parade of 315 police constables at Ntabazinduna Training Depot near Bulawayo on Thursday.
He rightly noted that the police force was inadequately resourced to carry out its mandate.
Fiscal authorities, themselves faced with a shortage of resources in the face of endless demands by various government departments, are not allocating enough money to the police force.
This has seen the police force do without essential tools to do their work. Some police stations do not have vehicles, making it difficult to respond timeously to crime scenes.
In the fight against crime, time is of essence. Any delays will result in the destruction of vital evidence.
It is therefore important for police authorities to wisely use the little resources they are allocated by Treasury by ensuring that the bulk of the money goes to crime-fighting duties instead of perks for senior managers.
Police also need to be innovative and come up with ways to raise their own resources for use in crime prevention and fighting.
During the recently ended Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, the Support Unit revealed that it had bought two all-terrain vehicles and fitted them with a satellite navigation system from proceeds of their farming projects.
The vehicles, to be deployed in Harare and Bulawayo, will enable the police to respond rapidly to crime reports, especially robberies and car jacking and will use the Global Positioning System to get to crime scenes, thus saving time as in the past they would stop and ask for directions.
This is the sort of initiative that the police need to take to cover the funding gap from Treasury. We are sure there are more fundraising activities which the police can explore that will reduce their dependency on Treasury.
We need the police force to keep Zimbabwe a peaceful country where every one feels free to move any time of the day without fear of being harmed.
Online Reporter