When Rwanda National Police (RNP) was created in the year 2000, it adopted the community policing strategy to build ties and work closely with members of the community to fight crime. Since then, the department for community policy has been influential in reducing crime throughout the country, and is run on a philosophy that promotes proactive partnerships with the public to address public safety issues such as social disorder and insecurity.  The Commissioner for Community Policing, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Damas Gatare, tells us how it works in an interview with Bosco Asiimwe. Below are the excerpts

How did the initiative of community policing begin and how is it implemented?

Traditionally, the Police responds to crime after it occurs. On top of that, the Police cannot be everywhere at all times and,  therefore, relies on routine patrols, rapid response to calls for service, arrests and follow-up investigations.

Community policing, therefore, was adopted to encourage citizens to participate in crime-solving.

It comes as a strategic and thoughtful plan focused on the proactive prevention of crime and disorder, by partnering with the public to increase Police visibility in all communities to solve, prevent and reduce crime.

In a nutshell, community policing encourages the Police to increase the means by which citizens can report incidents or the use of volunteers to provide timely reports that help us in anti-crime operations.

Does the community understand this strategy and has it worked as you expected?

We have to understand that before and during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, citizens were always scared and full of mistrust for law enforcing agencies.

Law enforcers were used by politicians to intimidate citizens and this gave them a bad reputation because citizens saw them as part of the problem, rather than as their protectors.

This is the kind of stigma we aimed to kick out from the onset; and we had to do that by first – ensuring that we offer services professionally as expected of us – and second, by being open and approachable to citizens.

This strategy has been very successful in increasing Police response to crime, because many reports are now provided by community members. This shows that they trust us to do our best in protecting their lives and property.

Unlike the previous law enforcers who served the criminal desires of a genocidal regime, the Police now serve the citizens primarily and ensure that they have a say in the security of their communities.

Can you with certainty say that community policing has led citizens to trust the Police?

The Rwanda Governance Scorecard produced by the Rwanda Governance Board in 2012, presented results from a nationwide survey, which indicated that 92 per cent of the citizens trust the Police. This is a high score which is a result of professional services, discipline and partnership. Of course, it is not 100 per cent, so we still have a lot of work to do.

But only when the community and the Police can truly work together for their common good, will citizens feel that they can trust the Police to that level.

Once the citizens trust the officers who they meet in our day-today operations, they feel free to provide them with information to help prevent or solve crimes and to arrest criminals.

This has enabled the Police to serve communities better and to fulfill our mission to "make the people living in Rwanda feel safe and reassured.”

What are the day-to-day activities of community policing initiatives around the country and how are they monitored?

Conducting investigations has always been paramount in the Police’s missions. For this reason, we have exploited community policing to build strong investigative functions countrywide, where we get credible information from citizens.

We also work with established entities such as Community Policing Committees (CPCs), Youth Volunteers in Crime Prevention, as well as individual citizens in general.

CPCs were introduced in 2007 and they are made up of ordinary citizens chosen by fellow residents. They operate in cells and sectors to collect information that helps in crime prevention, while they also sensitise residents about the need to collectively overcome crime.

The Youth Volunteers in Crime Prevention is an organisation that has over 7,000 young men and women spread throughout the country – with an aim to promote security and participate in crime prevention. They have been influential in aiding Police operations and also in sensitising fellow youth against crime.

These, on a regular basis, partner with Police’s district community liaison officers (DCLO) to immediately respond to information about criminality and to lay strategies on how to approach common challenges in society.

The DCLOs are heavily involved in community issues in order to create an opportunity through which the Police can make policing more effective.

We also work with motorists’ association to ensure that road safety is respected, as well as with the business community to protect the country against economic crimes.

How do you consolidate community policing programmes and ensure that they serve the purpose?

The Police have an understanding with authorities of all the 30 districts of Rwanda, and one of their mandates under this agreement is to ensure that all strategies, including that of community policing, are fully operational in the preservation of peace and security.

We also work with the Ombudsman’s Office, prosecution and other public entities to ensure that cases are properly documented and that justice information is properly shared in order to promote justice. Through such initiatives, citizens gain more trust in our ability to maintain law and order and to follow up on the information they provide with professionalism.

How has community policing influenced Police’s approach in tackling specific problems such as drug abuse, human trafficking and gender-based violence?

Every district faces its unique challenges, but it is through community policing that the Police understand the roots of these challenges and devise solutions to sustain a healthy society.

As with such challenges involving drug abuse and gender based violence, we get information from responsible members of society   and use it in operations to raid drug dealers’ homes or their areas of operation and arrest them.

The issue of human trafficking is not intense in Rwanda, but the Police are always aware of its threat. Citizens across the country volunteer information whenever such cases occur and we act upon it immediately to rescue young men and women who may be caught up in this crime.

On top of that, the Police reach   out to citizens during social events like Umuganda and special sensitisation campaigns to discuss and debate about how such crimes can be overcome. During these events, real problems are dissected and proactive solutions are found.

Community policing has become so popular in Rwanda that citizens are always willing to take it upon themselves to bring up ideas on how to maintain public order.

There are some cases that come up involving agents of community policing (abanyerondo). How do you deal with such and the strategies in place to keep them at their minimum?

Certainly no one is above the law. Everyone who commits a crime is investigated and penalised as the law stipulates. There are certain set guidelines that security personnel are bound to follow. So, if you go against any, you are followed up regardless of who you are or what you do. Rwanda is a country that is built on the foundation of the law. But again there are specific basic trainings given to these community policing agents to put them in line of professionalism although this does not mean that one or two will not tilt from these core values...but they are followed up individually but not as an entire institution. Like the Police, these community policing agents are accountable to the people.

What are the future plans of the community policing department?

Our goal is to ensure that law enforcement is a role for every responsible resident in society. The Police always aim to be dynamic, open and quality-oriented in its role as the enforcer of law and order, while at the same time partnering with the community to achieve this goal.

The Police also seek to maintain its training programmes for communities to empower CPCs and other partners with knowledge, skills and equipment, in a bid to emphasise partnership in crime prevention and problem-solving measures.