Rwanda National Police

Rwanda National Police (RNP) and the Rwanda Youth Volunteers in Crime Prevention have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize their almost three-year partnership in community awareness and fight against crimes.

The agreement was signed on May 7 between Assistant Commissioner of Police, Damas Gatare, Commissioner for Community Policing in RNP and Jean Bosco Mutangana, the coordinator of the youth organisation.

The formal agreement seeks to reinforce the current joint efforts between RNP and the organisation composed of majority students and graduates, in promoting community safety and making the idea of human security a tradition.

Under this unique partnership, the force will, among others, capacitate them through training, equipment, and together engage in human security activities, community awareness and fight against criminality through timely information exchange, poems and songs and drama.

The youth crime preventers operate across the country, but under this new understanding, they will be well structured right from the Cell to the national level.

"Our security force endured suffering and put their lives at stake to liberate us and on top of that spent about four years working as volunteers...without any pay. We could not play a role at the time but it's our turn now," Mutangana said shortly after the signing.

"That devotion and patriotic heart gives us energy, as the youth, to jealously guard the level of security that has been achieved, but further be active in fighting and preventing other security challenges that still exist in communities where we live or pass," he added.

He thanked Rwanda National Police for the supported since they started in 2013, which has seen them acquire an office and train over 1000 members of their group, in crime prevention.

Rwanda Youth Volunteers in Crime Prevention is composed of over 8, 000 members countrywide.

"We love and support our country and our President - Paul Kagame - and we are committed to ensuring sustainable peace and security as a foundation to sustainable development."

While presiding over the event, Commissioner of Police (CP) Emmanuel Butera, commissioner for Operations, noted that RNP as an institution mandated to protect people living in Rwanda and their property values cooperation as an inevitable strategy to facilitate in fighting, prevention and investigating crime.

The MoU, he added, comes to cement this community policing strategy.

ACP Gatare described the youth volunteers's organization as great partners in community security.

"They have indicated will and ability and what they have done so far in community awareness is a clear indication that they are result-oriented," said ACP Gatare.

RNP also handed over a motorcycle and a camera to the youth volunteers to facilitate their crime prevention activities.

The organization also support vulnerable communities by giving them medical insurance, livestock and carryout crime prevention awareness programmes in schools and communities against drug abuse, corruption and gender and domestic violence, among others.

Under this agreement, the two parties will also engage in environmental protection, health, hygiene and sanitation activities.