Rwanda National Police has said that the gains registered in safety and security are a result of growing trust the citizens have for security agencies. The governance scorecard, which was released on Wednesday this week, ranked safety and security as the highest ranked pillar in the country’s governance. The pillar measures citizen perception on maintaining security, personal and property safety and reconciliation, social cohesion and unity. The pillar on Safety and Security continues to lead in performance since the creation of Rwanda Governance Scorecard in 2010, the report states. Given the country’s history, security remains of a paramount factor in Rwanda’s transformation. According to Assistant Commissioner of Police Rose Muhisoni, the Commissioner for Community Policing at Rwanda National Police (RNP), the trust people have in their security organs and police in particular is defined by people-centred policing. “One of the best ways to serve the people is to empower them to own and be custodians of the system, and this is why as RNP we prioritise the proactive ideology of community policing as the best way of connecting with the people not only in safety and security matters but also in improving their social welfare,” Muhisoni said. She also commended all the community policing groups and Rwandans in general for their role in the overall human security aspects, which she credited with the “continuous decline in crimes and improvement of safety and security.” The country has more than 140, 000 members of community policing committees, in addition to 260,000 youth volunteers in community policing, she said. She added that there are over 2000 anti-crime clubs, commonly known locally as Irondo (community night patrols) in each of the 14, 837 villages across the country. “We also signed MoUs with all the 30 districts to partner in all community policing and development aspects. We also have an agreement with the Ombudsman Office and Transparency International to work together particularly in fighting corruption and injustices,” Muhisoni added. Police officers installing solar energy on a house. All these and many other groups, she said, have been instrumental in enhancing security through anti-crime awareness, reporting and prevention crime in particular. During the 2017 and 2018 activities to mark the RNP 17th and 18th anniversary, respectively, the Force engaged in various community development activities valued at over Rwf500 million. These include connecting about 6500 households and health centres with solar energy, and constructed five fully equipped village offices. Other activities include paying medical insurance, construction of two playgrounds worth Rwf53.8 million in Gasabo and Gatsibo, fighting armyworms, construction of 150 toilets worth over Rwf23 million, tree planting and extension of clean tap water to over 600 households in Gasabo, Burera, Kirehe, Rwamagana, Rutsiro and Nyamagabe districts. Early this week, Rwandan police and military peacekeepers in Central African Republic (CAR) alongside the Diaspora Rwandans in this country contributed Rwf6 million to cater for medical insurance of about 2000 members of disadvantaged families in Huye District. “Community policing falls under the national strategy of deepening partnership at all levels and the public in general towards the common cause in security and development,” Muhisoni said. The 4th resolution of the 13th National Dialogue of December 2015 demands deepened citizen participation in planning, monitoring, and implementation of development programmes. Muhisoni said community policing and human security activities, in particular, are also in line with implementation of these government recommendations to ensure effective engagement between the police and the citizens, be accountable to them, build trust, and to empower them to be part of their own security and development efforts. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
