In an effort to move police services closer to the local communities and curb crime, the police in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal State has created new security zones in Aweil town.
Last year the police divided Aweil town into western and eastern sectors with 26 zones. However, last month, the police created 18 more zones. Each zone will have between 12 and 14 police personnel.
The state police spokesperson Captain Guot Guot Akol told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that the new security zones will tighten crime surveillance in the town and its surroundings.
“They (security zones) are working well and we have created an additional 18 making a total of 44 security zones and the reason we created the zones is to take the police services close to the community,’’ Guot said. “For example, if a citizen lives in Kuom area he can cross 5 or 7 kilometers to come and report a case to police in Aweil town. For us, we see that is not logical so that is what prompted us to create the police zones across residential areas and each zone comprises of 12-14 police personnel so that nearby citizens can report their cases there.”
The police official thanked the residents of Aweil for cooperating with the police in tackling crimes.
Mary Anoon, a resident in Maper Akol, one of the most populated residences in Aweil town, said crimes have reduced recently.
She says there are still a few criminals moving in the night looking for food as hunger intensifies in the area.
“There are no problems like before, just thieves are moving at night like around 5 am and 4 am. They just need to steal properties to buy food because of the hunger,” Mary pointed out.
For his part, Lual Lual Bak, the chief of Deng Nhial area, applauded the police for doing a good job within the town but urged them to extend their services outside Aweil Town.
“They are concentrating within Aweil town but they fear to reach the outskirts due to the fuel and other challenges,” said Bak.
He called on the police to use the seven vehicles recently donated by the national government for the interest of the local communities.