6 October 2008
editorial
The police last week issued a terror alert warning in response to reports that terrorist groups were planning some kind of attack within Kampala. Many city residents, however, have been living in terror for several months over the rampant and indiscriminate attacks by gangs armed with metal bars, knives and other crude weapons.
Several people have been beaten, robbed and murdered and the attacks seem to be on the increase. The city has had previous crime waves, largely fuelled by gun-crime and while the latest attacks do not have the same kind of potency, they are worrying because the weapons are ruthlessly simple, the targets disturbingly indiscriminate.
It is not yet clear whether the attacks are coordinated and why they are occurring at this time; but it is clear that the policing of the city needs to be improved in order to help residents feel and remain safe.
Previously, a lot of the grassroots policing in and around Kampala was done by regular police officers in conjunction with Local Defence Force personnel and Local Council officials.
Although not without blemish, this system allowed people to quickly report crimes or suspicious activity or people in their areas, and enabled the local council or local defence personnel to respond quickly. The police force, which is revamping its community policing model, must find ways of replicating this model.
It is apparent that the recruitment of Special Police Constables has not improved the keeping of law and order in the city. If anything, many SPCs have been involved in crime and have only further eroded public confidence in the Force. The men in uniform should go back to the basics of policing such as carrying out regular patrols and responding quickly to alarms.
More work also needs to be done in collecting evidence to help convict criminals and ensure that they are taken off the streets. Many of the criminals in the city have long rap sheets but keep getting off the hook due to lack of evidence, perpetrating the vicious cycle of crime.
The police should also campaign for a change in the law to give harsher sentences to repeat offenders. Currently, a thug who is convicted of burglary would probably be back on the streets in less than two years. If the same thug is convicted on the same or similar charges, they should be sent away for a long time. It might be the only way to make our suburbs safe again.
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