Dar es Salaam. Tanzanians lose a whopping Sh220 billion to crime every year. At least six out of 10 households have fallen victim to crime over the past five years—and most of them report feeling devastated and insecure in the aftermath, not to mention the fact that they are left poorer.
A recent World Bank survey indicates that some 390,000 households had experienced hijacking, robbery, burglary or assault in 2010/11 financial year.
Another survey, conducted by Afrobarometer, says about 42 per cent of adult Tanzanians reported in 2012 that they or someone in their family had experienced crime in their home over the previous year.
This is comparable with Kenya and Malawi but higher than in Uganda (33 per cent) and lower than in South Africa (54 per cent).
Activists say the high rate of crime in the country is evidence of laxity in law enforcement organisation and an inadequate judicial system.
Mr Moses Kulaba, the executive director of Agenda Participation, a non-governmental organisation and consultancy group working to promote a culture of good governance and democratisation in Tanzania, is one of those who argue that the system has slowed down in dealing with crime in recent years.
“We all know that five or six years ago the police worked hard to suppress criminal incidents, especially those involving arms…it seems we are going back to those dark days…” he said in an interview.
President Jakaya Kikwete’s appointment of Inspector General of Police Said Mwema in 2006 is reputed to have rallied the force to tame crime that had become rampant at the time.
Daytime armed robbery has decreased to some extent these days, according to Mr Kulaba, but the country is now witnessing a rise in cybercrime and burglary that has lately included the homes of state officials.
Cabinet Minister Mark Mwandosya’s home in Dar es Salaam was broken into and property worth millions of shillings stolen in December last year.
Mr Mwandosya, the minister of State in the President’s Office (Special Duties), and his family were away at the time and the burglars took the opportunity to break into his double-storeyed home in the city’s posh Bahari Beach area. They are reported to have made away with property worth millions.
There are those who argue that the rise in crime could be the result of the high cost of living, unemployment and leniency among state operatives—which gives criminals the leeway to do whatever they wish to.
“But we also have to agree that criminals are now applying more sophisticated ways of committing crime incidents while our security forces continue to use their old fashioned techniques in most cases…this hampers their operations,” Mr Kulaba noted.
The police have, in the meantime, defended their record in dealing with crime, saying the community policing strategy has been of great help.
Police Spokesperson Advera Senso told The Citizen on Saturday that the force has run a number of sensitisation programmes that have involved banks, pubs and hotels and the project has helped reduce crime.
“We are not that bad,” she told The Citizen On Saturday, “It is true we can do better but we are doing very well so far despite some challenges…we only need to get more support from the public.”
Victims of crime should not shy away from reporting the attacks and raids to police promptly, she added.
Without giving statistics, the force’s spokesperson said crime has been contained through cooperation from other security agencies in the country.
Crime surveys indicate that residents of urban areas are about three times more likely than those in rural areas to be victims of these crimes.
However, crimes such as cattle rustling are rampant in rural areas. Any rise in crime poses a threat to tourism, diverts scarce public resources from productive investments towards heightened law enforcement and raises the cost of doing business.
Crime and violence have multiple causes—and no easy solutions.
In 2008/09, almost 85 per cent of crime (and attempted crime) that households experienced were not reported to the police, leading to a dead end in investigations.
Some 80 percent of households reporting on offence claim that the police were unable to interview or arrest a suspect.
Nonetheless, observers insist that providing job opportunities for youth and building a reliable police and judicial system are key to combating crime.
source:thecitizen.co.tz
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