Force scraps police posts
Usafi Police Post in Kampala. Police boss Kale Kayihura says the Force decided to remove police posts because they have no adequate personnel numbers and effective management. Photo by Kasirye Faiswal
What you need to know:
Police post: It is a permanent structure with offices that often accommodate the officer in charge of a post, and one in charge of criminal investigations
KAMPALA. The Uganda Police Force has scrapped police post commands around the country due to poor performance, under staffing and corruption.
In the new changes, the Force will strengthen central police stations, which are often at the division or district level, establish stations at sub-county level and mobile booths to replace post commands.
The Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura, said police decided to remove posts because they have no adequate police numbers and effective management.
“A police post should have 12 police officers but you go upcountry and find only two to three officers there. We are going to make them (police booths) part of the mobile patrol police,” Gen Kayihura said.
By 2010, there were 1,578 police post commands in the country and the number has since doubled as police strength shot up to 47,000 officers.
A police post is the lowest unit in the police structure and is often established in a crowded area to bring police services closer to the people.
Police have been renting privately-owned structures in towns and trading centres where they establish police posts but they have been struggling to pay rent for many of their posts. Most of them have no proper cells and armouries which has led to rise in escape of suspects and loss or misuse of firearms.
The new police booths will be mobile, in that when crime increases in a given area, they will be established there until the situation has normalised.
They will also be linked to Mobile Police Patrol Unit for effective management and swiftness.
Gen Kayihura, who was addressing 788 police cadets before he sent them for a six-month deployment at various police stations, said the method was piloted on the Northern Bypass and Yusuf Lule Road in Kampala, where it has proved a success.
However, he said, the number of officers at the lower level will not reduce but the troops will be mobile.
Due to lack of effective management, he said, misuse of guns and power in those posts had increased.
“I have seen that a number of guns involved in crime are police guns. Even recent operations in Busoga region indicate that there is a problem with the armoury management. There must be control of the armoury,” Gen Kayihura said.
About police posts and booths
Police post: It is a permanent structure with offices that often accommodate the officer in charge of a post, and one in charge of criminal investigations. It must be established in a populated area. It also has a detention centre where suspects can be kept for at least 48 hours. It is supposed to be manned by 12 police officers led by a police officer at the rank of inspector or assistant inspector.
Police booth: It is a mobile structure which has no offices and detention centre but established in a crime hotspot regardless of the population in the area. It is a meeting place for officers carrying out patrols. A police booth can be headed by an officer below the rank of inspector.
