THE UGANDA POLICE FORCE NEED A PARADIGM SHIFT IN POLICING ========================================== The police Force in Uganda has a bad name and a very bad reputation. This is created by the public perception of the Police. Perception is the process by which people translate sensory impressions into a coherent and unified view of the world around them. Though necessarily based on incomplete and unverified (or unreliable) information, perception is equated with reality for most practical purposes and guides human behavior in general. The term “person perception” refers to the different mental processes that we use to form impressions of other people. This includes not just how we form these impressions, but the different conclusions we make about other people based upon our impressions. Reports by Transparency International, Uganda Human Rights Commission and the Inspectorate of Government have consistently shown that the police are ranked highest among the most corrupt institutions in Uganda Police officers are daily caught on camera not having a laugh and a chat with the public but actually brutally beating up Ugandans. Reference: iol.co.za/news/africa/uganda-police-brutality-in-pictures-1.1056881?showComments=true#.UhEDJ9K1HCg The Ugandan Police actually has some of the best educated Ugandans in its middle and senior management levels. We expect these educated people to behave differently but unfortunately, some have been caught in acts that falls short of what you expect a police officer. Instead of showing leadership to the lower ranking officers (the constables), some of these senior Police officers are often caught acting unprofessionally like beating up members of the public. The actions of former Jinja Road Police operations commander, Alphonse Mutabazi that were reported in April 2011 when he walked with Otunnu from Nakawa to Uganda House showed that some senior officers were actually involved in true “community policing”. This man chose peaceful policing instead of public confrontation. The told the public to go away and leave him to walk with Otunnu and it worked. Reference: mobile.monitor.co.ug/News/-/691252/1150288/-/format/xhtml/-/ra3edq/-/index.html Instead of praising this Police Officer for a job well done, he was reprimanded and disciplined by his boss. This is a clear example that the Uganda Police Force is NOT for peace in the country. They seem to enjoy violence and their actions, more often than not, encourage & incites the public to riot. The Uganda police Force ought to know that community policing, where the police and the public work hand in hand & in collaboration, is the only way to everlasting peace in the country. Reference: police-foundation.org.uk/uploads/catalogerfiles/getting-the-best-out-of-community-policing/ideas_community_policing.pdf Brutalising the public only serves to entrench the perception that the Police in Uganda is anti-public and anti-people. We are fully aware that the Police are working under difficult conditions and many officers actually are struggling to make ends meet. I want the Police to know that the public is on their side. They are our brothers and sisters. It’s high time for the police to realise that confrontational policing is something of the colonial era and very backward. In the 21st century, this style of policing should never be heard of. So I call upon the Ugandan Police Officers, especially the highly educated to influence a C-change (sea-change) in the style & manner of policing in Uganda to embrace community policing as a way forward. It is hard work but will get you better results that confrontational policing. Reference: https://gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/175441/policing-21st-full-pdf.pdf Thank you By Sunday Geoffrey President The National Party
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 17:55:20 +0000
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