In short
The group comprises volunteers selected from the communities to promote and implement community policing through a model of neighbourhood watch, commonly known as mayumba Kumi. They are selected on the recommendation of Local Council leaders and trained by police to act as a link between the community and police in detecting and preventing crime.
Budaka County MP Kezekiah Mbogo has called for a review of the role and mandate of Crime Preventers, a group of civilian vigilantes recruited to work alongside the Police Force.
The group comprises volunteers selected from the communities to promote and implement community policing through a model of neighbourhood watch, commonly known as mayumba Kumi. They are selected on the recommendation of Local Council leaders and trained by police to act as a link between the community and police in detecting and preventing crime.
Their training focuses on community policing courses aimed at empowering them with self-defense skills, basic preservation of crime scene, detecting crime and reporting procedure, community policing strategies, ideological orientation and patriotism.
But over the years, crime preventers have been singled out among those perpetrating crime and violence across the country. Several Ugandans believe that the vigilantes, a formation of outgoing police chief Gen Kale Kayihura, are strongly affiliated to the ruling National Resistance Movement-NRM party and carry out assaults on rivals in the opposition without any reprimand.
Mbogo says that although the crime preventer's concept was unique, the choice of personnel and manner in which they were recruited left a lot to be desired. He says that government needs to develop clear guidelines stipulating the mandate, command structure and actual numbers of crime preventers in order to streamline the operations of the group.
The call comes a few days after the appointment of Okoth Ochola as the new Inspector General of Police, taking on an office previously occupied by Gen Kale Kayihura.
//Cue in: "Of which I…
Cue out:…very good program"//
Kilak South MP Gilbert Olanya says that the group of vigilantes needs to be disbanded as a way of taming crime in the communities. He told URN that the start of the crime preventers program was marred with irregularities, which turned the rather good concept into an anti-people gang.
//Cue in: "Right now those…
Cue out:…good intelligent work"//
There are over 200,000 crime preventers in the Country.
The group comprises volunteers selected from the communities to promote and implement community policing through a model of neighbourhood watch, commonly known as mayumba Kumi. They are selected on the recommendation of Local Council leaders and trained by police to act as a link between the community and police in detecting and preventing crime.
Their training focuses on community policing courses aimed at empowering them with self-defense skills, basic preservation of crime scene, detecting crime and reporting procedure, community policing strategies, ideological orientation and patriotism.
But over the years, crime preventers have been singled out among those perpetrating crime and violence across the country. Several Ugandans believe that the vigilantes, a formation of outgoing police chief Gen Kale Kayihura, are strongly affiliated to the ruling National Resistance Movement-NRM party and carry out assaults on rivals in the opposition without any reprimand.
Mbogo says that although the crime preventer's concept was unique, the choice of personnel and manner in which they were recruited left a lot to be desired. He says that government needs to develop clear guidelines stipulating the mandate, command structure and actual numbers of crime preventers in order to streamline the operations of the group.
The call comes a few days after the appointment of Okoth Ochola as the new Inspector General of Police, taking on an office previously occupied by Gen Kale Kayihura.
//Cue in: "Of which I…
Cue out:…very good program"//
Kilak South MP Gilbert Olanya says that the group of vigilantes needs to be disbanded as a way of taming crime in the communities. He told URN that the start of the crime preventers program was marred with irregularities, which turned the rather good concept into an anti-people gang.
//Cue in: "Right now those…
Cue out:…good intelligent work"//
There are over 200,000 crime preventers in the Country.