Chingadza observes that some cyclone survivors are partly committing crimes in the region for survival such as those who were rendered homeless and lost food in Thyolo, Phalombe, Mulanje, Nsanje, Chikwawa and Chiradzulu districts.

Chingadza made the observation on Thursday at a bi-annual Region Executive Committee (REC) meeting in Luchenza, Thyolo where statistics shown that in the half of 2023, the region registered 3, 916 criminal cases, way higher than 3, 094 of 2022.

"Our region is one of those that were greatly affected during cyclone Ana and Freddy. And having people who are homeless and with no food, that has also contributed to crime. This is because others are conducting themselves in criminal activities just to get something to eat," she observed.

A general bi-annual security outlook shows murder and suicide cases are topping the list than any other region in the country.

The region has however reduced traffic accidents by 37 percent from January this year.

National police director of community policing and police units, Alex Simenti has challenged the citizenry to own the police.

"As citizens of Malawi have got the role to play in crime prevention and more especially in this region. As you can recall, one of the police units-Chapanaga which has been vandalized, it is in this region," Simenti said.

Meanwhile, South East Police Regional executive committee chairperson, Bares Mkandawire, has urged the government to increase funding to police in order to counter crime.

Mkandawire said," The police have got the role to play in curbing crime, but their challenge is under-funding. So we would like to ask the relevant authorities to provide enough funding".

The region has newly established Masambanjati Police Station in Thyolo, making it the biggest in the country with eight formations.