Botswana Police Service Acting Commissioner, Phemelo Ramakorwane, says they have managed to reduce total crime by 8% from 173, 140 cases recorded in 2022 to 159, 680 in 2023.
Ramakorwane said this at the Senior Officers Annual Conference held under the theme “Modern Policing; New Realities Towards Safe and Secure Communities” last Friday.
Ramakorwane said serious crimes which include break-ins, robberies, rape, defilement and threats to kill recorded reduction of 4%.
The Acting Commissioner is concerned with increase in 4% murder, 19% stock theft and 28% theft of motor vehicle cases.
“We commit to refocusing resources and efforts towards reducing these crimes by the end of the year. Another worrisome crime is of illegal mining activities in the North Eastern part of the country done by local and foreign syndicates. Botswana police recently held a meeting with our Zimbabwean counterparts and agreed on a joint intervention strategy to mitigate the negative effects occasioned by this challenge,” he said
The Acting Commissioner highlighted that road safety has also improved as confirmed by a reduction in fatality and road traffic offences. He said the number of lives lost annually on the roads remained high.
Ramakorwane said in 2023, a total of 396 people died due to road traffic accidents compared to 404 in 2022, showing a 2% reduction.