By Jedidah Silas Kiman
Gombe
Gombe state Police Command has disclosed that it had recorded a total number of 70 crimes in January, this year, against the 218 crimes that were recorded in January, last year, indicating 68 per cent decrease in total number of crimes recorded in the two corresponding periods.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Austin Iwar, during a security meeting he held with senior police officers yesterday at the State Police Headquarters.
According to him, despite numerous challenges faced by the police in the region, the command has made a lot of achievements, including reduction of accident rate by six per cent, among many successes recorded by the command.
Iwar further said the police command had resolved to ensure that crime rate had been brought to zero level, adding that the police had already put in place measures to run a proactive policing strategy to effectively deal with security and social problems in the state.
He said the Command initiated programmes in line with its Crime Prevention Policy and Community Safety Strategy through Police Community Partnership Approach with a view to taking preventive measures against crime and other social problems.
According to him, the command had embarked on training of unemployed youth on emulsion and text-coat painting making in which over 200 youths were trained, and about 2000 school drop outs who were registered under ‘back to school programme’ in other to lure them back to school or into their choices of vocation.
The police commissioner also said other efforts put in place by the command included the re-enforcement of Special Anti-robbery Square (SARS) and the High Way Patrol to deal with armed robbery and other related violent crimes, in addition to reducing accidents on the highways.
According to him, “the intent was to deal with social problems that are directly or indirectly fuelling crimes in the state and by so doing reduce the incidence of crime and anti-social behaviour, and eventually miscreants and their like will be flushed from the state while our youth are given opportunities to have a brighter future.”
