The Inspector General of Police, Emmanuel K. Gasana, yesterday received a delegation of trainers from the Kenya National Police Service, which is on a benchmarking tour aimed at picking best practices implemented by Rwanda National Police (RNP) in response to modern crime.

In a meeting with the eight-member delegation at the RNP headquarters in Kacyiru, IGP Gasana noted that the modern policing era requires constant training, cooperation and exchange of information to combat emerging crimes.

"The changing times require credible information that can shape and inform the way police institutions operate to overcome emerging challenges like cybercrime, organized crime, smuggling and human trafficking among other,” he said.

"Time and again we are required to adapt to the needs of our fast developing economies.

Rwanda is experiencing a high level of economic growth, and with it, comes challenges. We therefore need to be at the forefront of this economic development by constantly adjusting with technology, training and also adopt successful mechanisms from our neighbours.”

Gasana added that training is highlighted among RNP’s core priorities and programmes, and looks forward to sharing values with Kenya and other regional countries to ensure that the capacity of police training institutions in the region are strengthened.

"We have had important collaboration with Kenya Police Service in the area of training – and we should maintain this valuable partnership. Our training institutions are well equipped to offer modern programmes to police officers; and we should cooperate more in increasing the capacity of our training institutions,” he added.

Kenyan Police officers are among those that have benefited from the Senior Command and Staff Course at the National Police College in Musanze District, which is now holding its third intake.

Dr. Kennedy Onyango Asembo, the Kenya Police Service Training Advisor and head of delegation, said that Rwanda is currently at the forefront of moving from traditional policing methods and adopting modern methods, which makes RNP an ideal example of how a modern policing institute should be built.

"In Kenya, we are trying to develop a police force for the 21st century like Rwanda has done. We are trying to come up with ideas from neighboring countries that have developed great security infrastructure like Rwanda, so that we can absorb those ideas and benchmark our own training modules,” he said.

He added that at the end of the three-day tour, the delegation members seek to ensure get valuable lessons that will help to propel Kenya’s policing to the forefront of economic, social and political dynamics.

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