English
Kinyarwanda
The week under review has been another successful one in as far as strengthening measures against crime and Rwandans producing yet another commendable job in ensuring their own safety and reporting wrongdoers in particular.
On December 8, Rwanda National Police released the 2014 security status report indicating that felonies committed in Rwanda dropped by 5 percent in 2014 compared to last year largely due to concerted efforts to end crime, including the adoption of modern and advanced detection measures and a continuous massive campaign among other initiatives.
Road accidents which had been rampant in the first eight months, also dropped drastically by over 50 percent – a development that was attributed to intensive and massive countrywide road safety campaigns coupled with TV and radio talk shows where officers discussed road safety issues.
On the same day, Police arrested three people and seized counterfeit and illicit goods including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and alcoholic drinks valued at over Rwf14.5 million in an Interpol-backed regional operation in Kigali.
The operation code named ‘FAGIA Operation’ conducted between December 1 and 3 was conducted and results released concurrently, on December 8, in eleven regional countries organised under the umbrella ‘Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation.
The fight against corruption continued to year commendable results with the force arresting 74 civilians in the last three month alone, majority drivers and drug dealers, for attempting to pay bribes to officers.
More to that, Police recovered a stolen Toyota Carina car type, registration number RAC 542N which ad been stolen from a garage, last week, where the owner had taken it for mechanical repair. It was recovered on December 12 in Kigara cell of Nyamyumba sector where suspected thieves had hidden it. This is the kind of detailed operation that builds more trust between Police and the public.
It appears that whereas Police has waged a successful campaign against bribery and drug abuse, offenders are still reluctant to heed to the law and comply with officers whenever they are caught in wrongdoing. Police maontains its zero stance to corruption continues the good fight until people begin to accept that bribery and corruption are no-go area.
Police campaigns were numerous last week; beginning with a seminar on Tuesday when Police reached out to residents of Kicukiro, urging them to play an active role in ensuring sustainable security in their area as well as collaborate with security organs to avert any suspicion of criminality.
In the same spirit, Police in Nyarugru District on Tuesday met with about 30 families and couples and sensitised them on fighting domestic and gender-based violence, which had seemingly started to pick up in pockets of the society.
Police warned the couples that most of the domestic conflicts are fueled by consumption of illicit drugs like especially by male spouses, which ill-guides them to batter their wives.
The same was done in Karongi where Police joined the district’s mayor and other leaders to call on fishermen to prioritise safety on the waters while conducting their fishing activities. It had been observed that the fishermen were undermining safety precautions, while some of them were using illegal fishing methods, which had led to several accidents occurring on Lake Kivu.
In a bid to safeguard the youth against criminality, Police on Friday joined local authorities to warn youth against the cunning methods used by human traffickers to lure unsuspecting victims into the modern slavery abroad. The meeting which happened in Kicukiro attracted close to 500 youth, who paused questions to officers and leaders about their role in society.
In the same spirit, Police opened up its doors to a group of 21 students from Hope Kids Academy on 12, December, visited Rwanda National Police to learn about how the force conducts its daily work to ensure safety and rule of law across the country.
The group from the international Turkish school which opened its Rwandan branch in 2012 under a Rwandan-Turkish partnership, was received by Commissioner of Community Policing Department, Assistant Commission Police (ACP) Damas Gatare, who lectured them about the structure of Police and its steady response mechanisms in preventing crime.
In order to enhance professionalism and knowledge of RNP, 25 Police officers on December 10 completed the third intake of the ‘Intermediate Command and Staff Course’ which was organized to reinforce and equip them with more policing skills in line with the changing policing environment.
They were joined by five colleagues from South Sudan National Police Services, in a bid to strengthen cooperation.
The course conducted at the National Police College (NPC) in Musanze District covered courses in; routine staff work, operational staff work, insurgency and counter insurgency, introduction to campaign planning, leadership and management skills, basic computer and communication skills, crime scene management, media and community policing and international relations.
In the same line, The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Emmanuel K. Gasana on Wednesday called on officers charged with harnessing Police-community partnership to demonstrate a high level of discipline and professionalism in order to efficiently exercise their duties.
He made the call while officiating a consultative meeting of 40 District and Community Liaison Officers (DCLOs and CLOs) at the Rwanda National Police (RNP) Headquarters.
In conclusion, all the most important work done by Police was well as the public and the media no doubt contributed to Rwanda ' s general security and it's imperative that this noble partnership to continue to build a crime free country that further facilitates investment and ultimate sustainable development.
While we continue to enhance our social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to directly interact with the citizenry, we should keep up the habit to mobilise, sensitize and engage the general population in the country's transformation process.
