Eddie Serunjogi, the Regional Police Commander West Nile, has urged the Police and local councils in Arua Central Business Division [CBD] to partner and develop local solutions to local problems of insecurity within the city.
This was stated by the police commander during a security meeting with LC 1 and 2 chairpersons in Arua city. He emphasised the importance of effective collaboration between police, LCs, and the community for crime prevention using the community policing strategy.
Serunjogi advised LCs to prioritise security as a key factor in development, stating that when a cell is insecure, people will naturally be afraid to live or do business in it, resulting in loss of business and no development.
"But where there is peace and security in an area, there will be rapid growth because people will rush there to buy land and develop themselves," he said while encouraging the local leaders to fulfill the mandate to ensure secure living environment in their communities.
The RPC further observed that local chairmen have credible intelligence information by virtue of their offices, which they should confidentially volunteer to police.
In his remarks, the District Police Commander Emmanuel Bwambale noted that there were gaps identified that probed convening the meeting.
"The gaps between police and LCs were hindering effective crime prevention which should be addressed,"he said.
The main reason for the meeting, he said, was a lack of information from local chairmen about insecurity within their communities.
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On the other hand, John Ssewanyana, the City Internal Security Officer, praised the LCs for their efforts in crime prevention. He reiterated the DPC's call for meaningful collaboration with security agencies in dealing with the city's criminal elements. "As leaders, LCs shouldn't give away their responsibilities and breed crime," he went on to say.
He pleaded with them not to point fingers at one another, compromising law enforcement due to relationships with criminal elements and corrupt practises.
Relatedly, the LCs decried the isolated cases of insecurity being perpetrated by youthful criminal gangs. They blamed this on parents who have totally given up their parental roles for the evil minded children to start stealing from their own houses to the neighbours, the cells, wards, and the entire city.
The LCs faulted some colleagues for being compromised by criminal elements for protection whenever police arrested them.
Among the issues they raised were poor coordination among justice actors, unnecessary court delays in concluding cases, corruption by some police investigators and judicial officers, failure of cases by the Resident State Attorney, and a refusal by some LCs and community members to disclose important information to security.
They pledged to address the existing gaps and cooperate with police to prevent crime.
ACP Eddie Serunjogi(standing) addressing the meeting between police and local leaders in Arua city
