Ten thousand crimes in two months: robberies in Luanda worry authorities

In the presentation of the public security situation of the last 60 days in the country, the spokesman of the National Police, commissioner Orlando Bernardo, admitted that the province of Luanda has registered a series of armed robberies "in broad daylight", causing a sense of insecurity among citizens.

Orlando Bernardo said that the police are aware of the crime problem in the country and admitted that "the situation must be resolved".

According to Orlando Bernardo, the videos relating to at least five armed robberies during the day in Luanda, broadcast on social networks, "brought with them a very great feeling of insecurity to the citizens".

"And at the same time it awoke the need to accelerate police response procedures, in the framework of prevention, investigation and instruction, in order to return a feeling of police coverage to public safety", he acknowledged.

In the country as a whole, 6694 crimes were clarified out of the ten thousand cases registered in August and September, and 7307 people were arrested on suspicion of committing various crimes.

The data released indicate that violent crimes represent 27 percent (2889) of the overall total, namely homicides, robberies and sexual assault, with the crimes that increase the criminal statistics the most, thefts and offenses to physical integrity, representing 46 percent (4992 ) of the total, and occur mostly in areas that escape police surveillance, that is, in homes.

Orlando Bernardo stressed that most crimes reported on social networks were cleared up, with the suspects arrested, stressing that the way in which the crimes had been committed, with characteristics different from the usual ones, drew attention.

And he exemplified: a robbery on Via Expresso "had the involvement of elements from another province, without any relationship between them, who joined and came to Luanda, which is a square of opportunity with the participation of someone from the company that made the transportation of valuables, one of the company's employees".

According to the spokesperson for the National Police, it is common for this type of crimes to involve the participation of someone who is within the system, especially when it involves money.

"Between six and seven crimes, four or five always involve the participation of someone close to the victim, someone who knows the victim, who is aware of the 'modus operandis', fundamentally crimes that involve money," he stressed.

The police officer highlighted that the periods of approaching the festive season are "very difficult times" for public safety, with a plan by the police forces to maintain the safety of citizens, in order to minimize these effects.

The National Police spokesman stressed that, after these crimes that had shaken the feeling of security in the capital, a series of actions were carried out that resulted in the seizure of 273 firearms, of which 57 were in Luanda, 422 vehicles and 1062 motorcycles. means usually used by criminals in their actions.

In Luanda, 61 suspects involved in various crimes were arrested, using firearms, of which 18 for homicides, one for attempted murder, 15 for offenses to physical integrity, 25 for illegal possession of a firearm and two by simulating a taxi service, using a firearm.

In Angola, more than 300 people are detained daily for various crimes, many of which are violent, and in Luanda the number exceeds 150 detainees per day, with jails being "very overcrowded", informed Orlando Bernardo.

The response of judicial authorities to the number of daily arrests, on the other hand, falls short of what is desired, added the spokesman for the National Police.

Orlando Bernardo said that the Police does not have to focus on the causes of the increase in crime in the country, but on what it can do to, with the available means, "can bring some peace and tranquility to the citizens".

"There is no police in the world that has all the means to fight crime, the police fight crimes with the means they have, with what they have, and they are obliged to give peace and tranquility. to justify that there are no means", he said.

The Angolan Police spokesman highlighted that although many of the crimes do not end in deaths, the probability that this will happen in Angola "is very high", noting that the police/citizen ratio is one effective for 250 citizens, in the country, and in Luanda the ratio is one policeman to more than 1500 citizens.