Residents of Rusheshe Cell in Masaka Sector of Kicukiro District have hailed services offered by the Rwanda National Police (RNP) ‘Mobile Police Station Van’ and vowed to take an active role in the fight against gender-based violence (GBV), drug abuse, human trafficking, some of the high impact crimes.

The mobile services are reserved for citizens residing or working in places located far away from police stations, with a mobile vehicle combing remote villages looking for residents who wish to file complaints or report injustices, during which residents are also sensitised on pressing security issues.

While addressing hundreds of residents of Rusheshe on Wednesday, Superintendent of Police (SP) Modeste Mbabazi appealed to them to be proactive in fighting crimes by reinforcing community policing initiatives such as night patrol and neighbourhood watch.

"Rwandans have adopted night patrols and neighbourhood watch among other community policing strategies to identify, fight and prevent crimes in communities through timely information sharing which has shaped the way to safety; this is why we you should embrace it and double the momentum,” SP Mbabazi told the residents.

He urged the residents to put much emphasis in fighting drug abuse, gender based violence and report families embroiled in wrangles so that they can be helped to prevent their misunderstandings from turning violent.

"We should work together to protect our young generation by being exemplary and reporting drug dealers on a timely basis. Drug abuse leads to several ills like rape and defilement. The country expects the youth to be the light of society. You should stand up to any individual who wants to introduce you to drugs, and report them to the police,” he said.

The youth are the most involved in drug related crimes, according to police.

Inspector of Police (IP) Angelique Mukamwezi from the RNP Gender Desk, also rallied residents against gender based violence, saying GBV is a "serious security threat that undermines basic human rights.”

She called upon residents to have a shared responsibility in preventing GBV and other crimes by availing quick information on anyone suspected to be involved in the vice. Damien Nsabiyumva, a local leader in Masaka hailed Rwanda National Police for being on the forefront to address crimes like GBV and empowering the people to take up the policing.

He asked residents to strengthen partnership with Police and other concerned authorities to ensure that crimes are addressed jointly.

During the campaign, police officers in the mobile station van received and filed complaints from residents.

Police remains with complaints that are within its mandate to investigate, while the rest are channeled to relevant institutions such as the judiciary and local leaders for redress.

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