Harare police urged women to report gender-based violence (GBV), which is rife in the area, during an outreach programme in Makhaza, on Friday 2 December.
The programme, hosted in partnership with Ilitha Labantu, was designed to tackle issues such as crime, extortion and rape.
Ilitha Labantu offers counselling and offers shelter to abuse survivors.
According to the organisation, the programme was also designed to cement relationships between the police and the communities.
Ludwe Nkomo, Ilitha Labantu’s stakeholder coordinator, said the programme, dubbed “Take back the night”, encourages communities to report evil deeds in society.
“In our days women are scared to walk at night as they may be victims of rape or get killed. We say this must come to an end. As communities we need to take back our streets,” he said.
“In most cases, crime occurs during the night and police don’t easily get to the scene. So, we want to develop a good working relationship between police and communities as they need one another,” said Nkomo.
Nkomo called on residents to break the silence and report any form of abuse taking place in society.
Harare Police Station spokesperson Capt Siyabulela Vukubi said they also have a programme where they preach no to crime.
“The issue of GBV is rampant in this area and we need communities to work with us to uproot it. Remember this kind of crime occurs inside homes where police are not present” he said.
Vukubi appealed to communities to report these crimes to the police and not take the law into their own hands.