Police to vet, redeploy 48,000 officers

The Uganda Police Force has started a process of vetting all its officers and men for redeployment.

 The Police Directorate of Human Resource Administration and Development is in charge of the process.

The on-going process to address the challenges in the human resource administration is as a result of continued complaints by police management about the performance of its personnel.

Police spokesperson, Mr Asan Kasingye says the force has had a very poor manpower planning system since they have been concentrating on recruitment of personnel.

 The force has a total of 48,000 officers and troops deployed in the various directorates and units.

Each officer has a file in Human Resource Administration department which details their academic qualifications as well work experience.

 The files are stored in the Police Registry at the Police headquarters in Naguru. The files are supposed to be updated after every two years by the Directorate of Human Resource Development which has details of courses and individuals who studies them.

 A source within the Police top management, however, says the files are gathering dust in the store room and are never used during promotion or deployment processes.

 "Who has time to go through those dusty files?  Maybe the new ones will be of help but to say that people go into the registry and look at a file?  It's like you don't know our policemen," the officer says.

 A committee headed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) Okoth Ochola has since been set up to handle the vetting of personnel for deployment. Through a new programme codenamed "Career Path Development", all personnel employed under the police force have been asked to avail details of their academic qualifications, courses undertaken through police and their previous deployment.

 The vetting committee will use the availed information to redeploy personnel basing on their areas of expertise.

It remains unexplained why the top managers in the force want the cops’ details again.

Police officers who have been asked to fill the career path development forms have expressed concern that this is not the first time they are filling such forms.

One of the officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, says deployments have always been based on “who knows who in the top management” and the practice is not likely to change.

He says: "Directors have their relatives. We have those who are reportedly related to the first family. It is these relationships and lobbying that earn one deployment, not education."

  Mr Kasingye says the current disorganisation in the police force has seen persons with expertise and experience misplaced to units not connected to their expertise.

The vetting committee's mandate also includes removing personnel with criminal record or being investigated for different crimes from the units in which they have allegedly committed the crimes and offenses.

 Police has in the past been accused of protecting officers with offenses under investigations and deploying them or even promoting them.