The Rwanda National Police, in collaboration with some secondary schools in Kigali, have organised a debate between five secondary schools on the role of the youth in fighting crime.

According to Police Spokesman John Uwamungu, the debate will take place this Saturday at Police Headquarters and it will feature Lycee de Kigali, Riviera High School, FAWE Girls School, KICS School and Greenhills.

The motion of the debate will be; ‘Should the youth participate in crime reduction.’ Uwamungu to The New Times that the debate will be held under the Community Policing framework.

Community policing is a collaborative approach to maintaining law and order which involves establishing partnerships with the local communities by enabling the police to act responsively to community needs.

"One of the programmes of community policing is outreach, especially in areas related to Gender Based Violence (GBV), domestic violence and Child abuse. We believe that if students are sensitised, they can help us in reducing crime,” explained the spokesman. He also pointed out that the debate will help in educating students on what they can do to prevent crime.

"After successfully carrying out the debate, we are planning to extend the programme even to upcountry schools, because schools are our important partners in fighting crime be it at school or in homes,” added the Uwamungu. 

According to police, crime last year reduced by 30 percent especially GBV and violence against children whose reduction was  attributed to the improved relationship between the police and communities.

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