City Police Chief, Abraham Kanime has appealed to City of Windhoek (CoW) local authority councillors to avail enough resources to buy updated equipment that will help City Police enforce the law effectively.

Kanime made the appeal on Saturday night during the City Police night patrol with some councillors who were also familiarising themselves with City Police work and different operations to enforce traffic laws, crime prevention and municipal by-laws.

Kanime said the municipal police department has a shortage of manpower which sometimes forces police officers in the administrative departments to be deployed in the field to help their colleagues, and they also using outdated equipment which sometimes hinder their operations.

“We need more manpower for our strategies to work effectively, most of our equipment are outdated and we need to use the latest to be ahead of the criminals. So when we are appealing for our budget to be increased to acquire new equipment, please hear our cry,” said Kanime.

He added that as law enforcement officers, sometimes they find themselves in conflict with engineers who construct roads and put up traffic lights that are not pedestrian-friendly, and nobody pays attention when they raise the issue.

CoW Deputy Mayor Clemencia Hanases who was part of the night patrol, said police officers are risking their lives to protect property and lives of others. Especially female officers who might have left their little ones at home to be on duty at night. Therefore, they are appreciated as they form part of essential service providers.

Councillor Jürgen Hecht who was also part of the patrol, said now that he knows what police officers go through, he will urge Council to look into their plight.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency