The fight against crime cannot be left to the police alone; it should be a collective effort through community policing initiatives.

Marlene Mbakera, an Otjiwarongo councillor, praised over 70 volunteers from an informal settlement who have dedicated their lives to assisting the police.

Established in 2014, the Otjiwarongo Community Against Crime Forum continues to play its role as the most vibrant crime prevention group in town.

As part of her contribution to supporting the group, Mbakera received assistance in the form of identification materials to enhance their visibility in the community.

Mbakera outlined some key specific missions of the forum in their efforts to combat crime and meet the expectations of the community.

She said, "We need to cultivate neighbourhood accountability. This group will have a lot of work to do in the community, among other things, to help guard against vandalism of government and municipality property, to help identify bars that are selling alcohol to children (as it has become a serious concern that alcohol is easily accessible to our underage children), to report copper cable theft so that Cenored can be happy, and to report the selling of illegal substances and stolen goods. Stock theft and stolen meat are also issues we are dealing with a lot."

Mbakera says members of the forum are certified to ensure that their records are clean of any criminal experience and to build a good reputation.

The councillor urged the policing community to execute their work without risking themselves.

Mbakera asked that those selling drought relief food be reported.

She said, "Selling drought relief food has become a new trend now. Drought relief food somehow finds its way into the informal settlements and is sold here. We have even identified one person, so please help us. Drought relief food is needed because people do not have food. At the moment, we are only getting drought relief food from the farm. The preamble registration has been concluded, so our people in the informal settlement will start getting food as early as two weeks from now.  Kalkveld, but it still finds its way into our informal area. The preamble registration has been concluded, so our people in the informal settlement will start getting food as early as two weeks from now. And then you will have to help us ensure that this food is not sold to people who are not supposed to get it."

Addressing the maintenance of law and order at pensioners' pay points is another matter that needs to be addressed.