The Namibian Police Force (NAMPOL) in the Kavango East Region has raised concern over the escalating number of housebreaking cases reported in the region, leading to suspicion of possible insurance fraud. NamPol’s Kavango East Crime Investigations Coordinator, Deputy Commissioner Bonifasius Kanyetu, told NAMPA in an interview on Monday housebreaking cases have increased in the town of Rundu and he suspects it might be linked to insurance fraud. “We have four or sometimes five cases of housebreaking in a week and the same articles are being stolen, which I suspect to be coupled with insurance fraud,” said Kanyetu. Most of the items being stolen are televisions sets, laptop computers and smartphones in areas like Ndama, Kehemu, Sikanduko, and Millennium Park. The crime investigations coordinator said, so far, they have four cases in which they detected some insurance fraud, whereby people take their valuables to the village and report them as stolen because they want to have the same television at their village and townhouses. He further added that sometimes parents report their insured phones as being stolen but at a later stage it is established that the phone was given to their children for them to claim for a new one. Furthermore, Kanyetu said it is important for members of the community to work with the police to prevent cases of housebreaking escalating. “The response to housebreaking at the moment will not help but we have to at least prevent such cases. Residents can form neighbourhood watch groups in their respective locations,” he advised. He further noted that although the cases are on the increase, the police will not relent in their quest to reduce such cases. -NAMPA