The Police Inspector General, Joseph Shikongo, has called on residents of the Erongo Region to stop harbouring criminals in their homes and instead report them to the police. 

At the inauguration ceremony of the Chief Christian Zeraeua Police Station at Omatjete in the Daures Constituency, the Police Inspector General called on the crowd to reveal five criminals among them.

However, no one took up the challenge, despite many community members repeatedly reporting incidents of stock theft, house break-ins, and other crimes.

"How do we stop criminality if you people are not coming forward? If today all of us become police officers, if all of us decide that if you have someone in your house who is stealing, you are going to let them go today, there will be no criminals around here. Now your cattle are finished. Now your goats and sheeps are stolen every day. People are breaking into houses," he stressed. 

Lieutenant General Shikongo stressed to the community that when they fail to report crimes, they become culprits by providing a market for stolen goods.

"Please, if you are leaving here today, go to your houses and check your wardrobes. If there is something that came through criminal activities, burn it completely. Because you are sick. If you are stealing, you are sick. If you are buying stolen property, you are sick. We want you to be healed. God is here today, looking at us."

The Inspector General revealed that the police force operates on 3 pillars: effective policy, building partnerships, and organisational excellence.

He therefore called on police officers to serve the community 24/7 and not take lunch breaks that leave stations unattended.

"We do not want police officers or commanders. We do not want the office or the counter to close at any time. If there are 12 officers working in the office, one can go for lunch at 12, and one must remain in the office. At one o'clock, one must still be in the office. I do not want community members to come to our facilities and be told that officers have gone for lunch. Police officers - we do not have lunch breaks. We work 24/7."

Community members were also urged to form or join neighbourhood watches or become reservists to assist the police in areas they cannot reach.