Drugs and crimes against women and children go unreported as people resort to traditional forgiveness, and the perpetrators go unpunished.

This has been highlighted by the Divisional Police Commander, Eastern Senior Superintendent of Police Josua Vodo while visiting villages and communities on Koro Island last week.

Vodo has stressed the urgency of people not being silent and reporting crimes.

He adds that the trauma that affects victims of crime will be with them for life, and a traditional apology won’t take that pain away, so they continue to suffer in silence.

He is urging that it is about time that people value the lives of their loved ones over the need to preserve traditional ties.

SSP Vodo and a team of community policing officers visited Sinuvaca, Namacu, Nakodu, Kade, and Mudu villages, calling for a change of mindset in the manner in which crimes within communal settings were often unreported.