First Lady patrols Windhoek streets with City Police

WINDHOEK, 03 DEC – First Lady Monica Geingos joined the City Police on their weekly Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS) operation Saturday night as part of her ‘#BreakFree’ anti-violence campaign.

The operation included stops at crime hotspots, roadblocks, bars and the Katutura Intermediate Hospital’s casualty ward, where police officers explained the nature of the complaints they received from that particular area.

Besides members of the City Police, the First Lady was also joined by Windhoek Mayor Muesee Kazapua and members of the Namibian Police Force and Special Reserve Force.

A man with a sharp metal object stuck in his forehead and patients lying with open and bleeding wounds in the casualty ward were some of the scenes that greeted Geingos and the COPPS team.

“It is important for us to see it from the police’s perspective. What they see is similar to what we see in prisons – its brokenness, lack of alternatives and a very problematic drinking culture,” Geingos said.

The patrol started at a bar in Khomasdal, where police officers searched vehicles for firearms and confiscated open bottles of alcohol.

Next was a pub in Otjomuise, then Eveline Street, the Katutura Intermediate Hospital, a bar in Dorado Valley and two temporary roadblocks in Greenwell Matongo.

COPPS is an initiative of the City Police along with Kosmos Radio and Camp David (a ministry for men) and is aimed at forming partnerships with the community in combating crime. – NAMPA