Dodoma — A SERIOUS shortage of human resource within the police force has prompted government to adopt a security personnel diversity approach to bridge the gap.

Currently there are 38,847 members in the police force while demand stands at 89,858. The Deputy Minister, Home Affairs, Mr Pereira Silima told the National Assembly in Dodoma that the shortage is so huge such that the ratio is 1 policeman to 1,156 civilians, a situation that is not acceptable by international standards.

Mr Silima said this while responding to a basic question from Hussein Mussa Mzee, (CCM, Jang'ombe),who wanted to know what efforts government is making to increase efficiency within the police force in terms of security.

"According to results from the national census, the population of Tanzania is 44,929,002. Out of this number, 43,925,434 are on the mainland while 1,303,568 are in Zanzibar. Therefore, there is a deficit of 48,011 personnel in the police force. Security matters are cross cutting.

Each of us should play a role," Silima appealed. He told the House that the government was doing all it could to help build capacity within the police force in terms of manpower improvement. Training of new personnel is underway and there are 3,000 students enrolled at Moshi Police College annually.

According to the Deputy Minister, the number of police personnel increased from 28,000 in 2006 to 38,000 in 2012. Out of that number, 7,450 are women, equivalent to 19 per cent. In addition to formal training, the police force has introduced what is known as participatory neighborhood watch method with the objective of improving security.

Mr Hamad Rashid (CUF, Wawi) advised government to strengthen the auxiliary police unit and give some incentives as part of the strategies to improve