Cluster policing not a magic bullet

The Botswana Police Service has encouraged the formation of clusters across the country and has indeed supported these with secondments, de-briefings and back up wherever necessary. Cluster policing, or neighbourhood watches, has allowed a bottom-up approach where the community points police to the crime hotspots, trends and issues, thus allowing law enforcement to provide bespoke interventions.

The near-ubiquity of cluster members – day and night – has also struck trepidation in the hearts of would-be criminals, reducing the number and frequency of both petty thefts and major crimes.