Maputo — Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano on Thursday urged the country's police to redouble their efforts to protect citizens, despite the few resources available.
Speaking during a ceremony to graduate newly trained police officers at Matalane, in the district of Marracuene, some 30 kilometres from Maputo, Chissano said "people are calling every day for improved security, and it is our duty to ensure that security".
This was the 17th basic police training course, which graduated 520 police officers, 155 of whom are women. It followed a decade in which there were no basic courses at all.
The spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, Natanial Macamo, said that this course started on 19 March, and was the first since the signing of the General Peace Accord, in October 1992, which ended the war of destabilisation.
Chissano explained that this course included material on human rights, to enable the new members of the police force to carry out their job properly. But "in terms of numbers, we are aware that this effort is still far behind the country's real needs for police coverage", he said.
"If we look at what is the average around the world, we find that there should be a ratio of one police officer for about 400 to 500 inhabitants. And we are talking about a well equipped police force, with all the modern resources at their disposal", Chissano said. "But our reality is that we have one police officer for about 2,000 inhabitants, and with resources that are neither sufficient nor adequate for their job".
He noted that this course is ending at a time when the movement of people and goods in the festive season, is coming to its peak. "This festive season, that coincides with the beginning of your probation period, will serve as a test, through which we will assess your assimilation of the subjects you have been taught, and we shall see what improvements you bring to the police force", he said.
Chissano also stressed that preventing and fighting crime, and maintaining order and public tranquility is a task that is not exclusive to the police. "It is a job for all of society and should thus be looked upon in a broader perspective", he said.
"Community policing is one of those models that allows the involvement and organized participation of the communities in ensuring their own security and that of their possessions", said Chissano.
He also urged the newly trained police officers to do their best to try and restore the good image of the police force, and citizens' trust in state institutions.
1,129 people applied to take this basic police course, of whom 623 were selected. Only 529 made it to the end of the course, the others being rejected for medical and other reasons.
