EDITORIAL: It's everyone's responsibility to check crimes, accidents this festive season

Rwanda National Police earlier this week released a crime report showing that crime across the country had dropped, with numbers of reported incidents falling by 7.7 per cent between September and November. Notable crime such as human and drug trafficking, domestic violence, corruption, drug abuse and assault reduced by 5.4 per cent. Theos Badege, the head of Criminal investigation Department, said there was hope that with more efforts from all stakeholders and stiff safety and security measures, the trends will continue to go down in the coming days. Only that the “coming days” are not the usual without the bustle and flurry of activities that come with Christmas and End of Year festivities. December is upon the world and, with it, the hyped and increased chase for finances to fund a catalogue of aspects. Wedding pledges, parties, family obligations and personal needs will all be at the burden of bank accounts. For many, such days call for heightened efforts to raise money. This gives way to criminal activities. Needless to say, Police are not going to fold their arms akimbo and watch as humans tempt fate. Already, Police have warned that strong penalties await motorists who flout traffic rules during the festive season, especially considering that the number of road accidents registered in the last quarter of the year have shot up. This is where each one of us has to play their part. It is, for instance, a taxi-moto passenger’s responsibility to ask the rider to slow down if he was speeding. Same goes with passengers in commuter taxis, especially those travelling upcountry. Police are not omnipresent, the public is. An added sense of responsibility should mean that rather than be stressed into ‘sleeping in a bottle’ and losing it on the family, one could dedicate this festive season to taking part in community policing. At the end of the day, a Police report indicating a drop in crime rate is every citizen’s pride, the opposite, fears. But Police can only do that much with our support.

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EDITORIAL: It's everyone's responsibility to check crimes, accidents this festive season