The Police's image has been tarnished by wayward characters who were employed as Special Police Constables (SPCs). These were supposed to be auxiliary forces which would help the regular Police, especially in times of need.

Because of the haste with which they were recruited, the Police authorities were unable to do background checks on them. All they wanted was manpower to supplement the regular Police during the stress days.

Majority of them had questionable records; some of them were just moved over from Local Defence Units (LDU). Even the training they got was short and wanting. As a result, it is not surprising that some of these SPCs have been involved in armed robberies, sporadic shooting of innocent people, and many other crimes.

The latest ugly incident involving SPCs was the shooting of musician Bebe Cool and two others last week. They are very lucky to be alive.

Strangely, earlier on SPCs used to have clearly labeled uniforms but that is no more. It is therefore difficult to distinguish a regular cop, most of whom are well trained and professional, from an SPC; and this has really tainted the image of the Police Force as a whole.

Oddly, in UK where this idea of SPC was borrowed from, Special Constables are people from all walks of life and career backgrounds. They are surveyors, accountants, nurses, teachers and sales people. They are not jobless. The idea is to build up a community Police.

These constables are constantly trained and given a wide range of skills that even help them in life after serving in the forces. In Uganda the reverse is true. The most obvious qualifications for an SPC seem to be lack of adequateducation and the ability to handle a gun and beat up people.

We all agree on the need for more Police officers but we should never have compromised on the quality in our quest for quantity. There are so many graduates hunting for jobs who could be lured into the Police Force.