‘Mixed feelings’ on police
Almost three-quarters of the respondents who took part in an Afrobarometer survey said they believe the police sometimes use excessive force when working with suspects and during protest marches.This information is contained in an Afrobarometer report that was recently issued.
This comes after the Ombudsman stated in his latest annual report that most of the complaints his office receives are about the police.
However, the feedback from the survey was not only negative.
"The police receive a mixed response. Among citizens who interacted with the police, 68% say they got assistance easily. However, one in five say they had to pay a bribe or give a gift," according to the report.
According to the Ombudsman's report, 579 complaints were received about the police, and 280 about the judiciary - which received the second most complaints.
"The police is very important for a democracy. . . when we don't have police, we have anarchy. One thing we see when we visit the regions and talk to police representatives is a lack of resources. This ranges from a lack of transport and manpower to the infrastructure they work with," said Aurelia David, the spokeswoman for the Ombudsman's office.
"This is not necessarily an excuse for all the negative aspects, but these are some of the things we have seen that are holding them back. It is important for them to uphold laws and we should not take that aspect for granted," she said.
'Several issues'
During visits to places of detention, the Ombudsman's office identified several issues.
This report says, among other things, that the Outapi police station is "falling apart" and the walls are badly cracked, as well as that the Windhoek police station's lights and most of the toilets are apparently out of order.
At the Otjituuo detention cells in the Otjozondjupa region, the Ombudsman mentioned food shortages and the Outjo police station was allegedly found in the same dilapidated and dirty condition as the previous year. The Coblenz police station was also reportedly dirty and prisoners allegedly said their requests for cleaning agents and materials came from dates.
The professional behaviour of police members was also under a magnifying glass in the Afrobarometer survey with only a third of the respondents feeling that the police often or always behave professionally.
More than half of the respondents (55%) felt that the police stop motorists without a valid reason. About 19% of the respondents said they had to pay a bribe, give a gift or do a favour to avoid problems at roadblocks.
A total of 65% of respondents said they believed the police were involved in illegal activities, while 81% of respondents feel the police will take incidents of gender-based violence seriously. However, this percentage decreases among those with no formal education (68%) and those aged 55 and over (74%).
Safety
The Afrobarometer survey shows that the number of respondents who said they had - since 2012 - felt unsafe several times when walking in their neighbourhood, has doubled. The number of people worried about crime in their homes has shot up from 9% in 2012 to 37% in 2021 and is experienced more in urban than rural areas. However, those who live within walking distance of a police station are less concerned about crime in their homes.
Eight percent of those living near police stations said they always or often feared crime in their homes compared to 12% and 13% of those living farther from police stations.
Around 64% of respondents said they trusted the police somewhat or a lot, with 13% not trusting the police at all.
Those with no formal education have less trust (51%) in the police than those who have received at least primary education of which 62% to 70% said they trust the police.
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