End-of-year hustle and bustle demand extra security alertness on the part of everyone.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  The months of December and January are synonymous with much travelling and feasting. Generally, Christmas and New Year Day eve is characterised by much shopping and public outings. This is also a period when pickpockets, dare-devil robbers and other miscreants take advantage of the hustle and bustle to steal; thus the need for everyone to become more security-conscious.

Public Places

Police Headquarters or the General Delegation for National Security, DGSN, in Yaounde, advises that while in public, people should be vigilant and pay extra attention to what is happening around them. In this era of heightened terrorist threats, it is important to note what is happening around in case there is need to describe the scene later. Also, there might be a suspicious fellow lurking around, just waiting to rob you.

If you discover any suspicious-looking parcel, do not approach or touch it. Instead, call the police or Gendarmerie. Ensure that you always take along your identity papers; and as much as possible, avoid moving around aimlessly at night and during the day. Find out and respect any emergency measures the local or national authorities might have taken.  

Bus Stations or Motor Parks

Police advise that all travellers must ensure that their names are included in manifests before they set off. Similarly, those travelling should avoid taking along much luggage or collecting unknown parcels for other people. Such parcels might contain hard drugs or explosive devices. Motorists and passengers should also be ready for vehicle and luggage searches as well as frisking at highway checkpoints. If checkpoint security men request that passengers alight in order to search them or the vehicle, please comply.

Avoid dealing with unruly bus station or Motor Park touts. Only seek assistance from people who can clearly be identified as working for bus companies or bus stations. While in the bus, do not accept any ‘gifts’ such as sweets, yoghourt, sandwiches, drinks, etc, from unknown people. Such items are often drugged by pickpockets. It is also foolhardy to discuss your private or professional life with people you meet for the first time. Before boarding a taxi, first throw a glance inside to see if there are any harmful-looking people.

While At Home, In Neighbourhoods

Remember, you are the first informant in your neighbourhood. You must therefore take interest in what your neighbours do for a living and who visits them most. On the other hand, landlords and landladies must know their tenants, and as much as possible, their backgrounds. Do not be quick to open the gate or door to strange people passing for cable television operators, preachers, hawkers on promotion errands, electricity, water or telephone technicians, etc. They might as well be robbers seeking to gain entry into home before striking.

Take particular note of strangers roaming in your neighbourhood or around your home. It is important for neighbours to know each others’ telephone numbers in case …. Parents must know where their children are going or coming from. Being informed about what children are doing at a particular time and with who could help in preventing abductions, sexual abuse, the taking of alcohol, tobacco or hard drugs, and enlistment into terrorist groups.