When Rwanda National Police (RNP) was created in June 2000, the concept of community-oriented policing became one of the driving forces in response to crime, guarantee of safety and security as well as promotion of human rights.

Community policing was adopted to encourage citizens to participate in crime-solving. It came 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.

Fast-forward, the impact of this police-public partnership in the last 17 years define, among others, the level of safety and security that local, regional and international reports have partly relied on to label Rwanda one of the safest countries globally – where people are safe to move at night, and where citizens trust and rely on their security services.

Untold story

However, the story of ‘Imitavu’ (loosely translated as ‘calves’), a group of about 100 children between the ages of six and 15, of Gahara Sector in Kirehe District, has brought a new perspective to this idea, and a new force in changing the mindset of the people in response to crime.

Founded eight years ago in the remote Gahara, the group won a competition in 2014 of composing poems and songs aligned with community policing activities, to which RNP awarded them financial and other varied prizes.

Today, local authorities, residents and the Police in Kirehe speak highly of how these children have turned Gahara, once a sector with one of the highest crime rates in Kirehe, into the safest and a model of security that it is today.

The sector is home to about 80,000 people, mostly farmers, and is one of the 12 sectors that compose Kirehe District. The sector borders Burundi and Tanzania, with porous border points that are often used to smuggle narcotic drugs into the country.

Fiston Dufitumukiza, 26, the brains behind the establishment of Imitavu drama group, says for the last eight years of their community policing and patriotism activities, they meet every Saturday to engage in community sensitisation and to challenge their elders on their role, especially against illicit drugs and other high impact crimes like child abuse and gender-based violence.

"They make their voices heard through drama, songs and community visitations to raise awareness against drug abuse and crime prevention. This behavioural change approach is also extended to their parents and peers at home and school,” says Dufitumukiza

The children, through their discussions, provide names of people in their villages who deal or traffic in drugs, and, according to the Police, this has played a significant role in arresting culprits and breaking chains of supply that were using Gahara as one of the main transit routes in Kirehe.

"We even have a child who reported her parents who were trafficking drugs, and they were arrested and prosecuted,” said the District Police Commander (DPC), James Rutaremara.

In some occasions, the arrested drug dealers are paraded before the residents and the children, and shamed, to set a precedent.

The children are now extending their activities to the neighbouring sectors of Gatore, Kigarama and Nyamugari.

"We intended to spread to the entire district and probably other parts of the country,” Dufitumukiza said.

The youngsters have set an example that has changed the mindset of many in Gahara.

"There is a general sense that any wrong that happens at home will now come to light because when these children meet, they discuss what happens in their families and neighbourhoods. Some of us remain challenged when you see children knocking at our doors to educate us as parents and elders of our responsibilities in safety, protection and promoting their rights, and even on how to live in harmony as a family,” says Rodrigue Karemera, a resident.

He added: "For example, when a husband assaults a wife or children, or goes home drunk, there are higher chances that it will come to light. As parents and elders, we feel these children should be empowered to carry on with this good work.”

The DPC said community policing ushered in by the children "limits people from indulging in crime.”

"It is a fact that Gahara was experiencing high crime rates but ever since the group amplified its efforts, crime reduced,” he said.

Reduced crime rate

According to Police records, 42 kilogrammes of cannabis were seized in Gahara last month, with no drug-related crime reported so far in this month in the same sector.

At least 34 kilogrammes of cannabis have been seized in Kirehe District since the beginning of this month.

As part of the Rwanda National Police’s efforts to supplement community policing activities in Kirehe, the Force donated a vehicle and a motorcycle to Kirehe, which to facilitate community patrols and reduction of crime.

Eric Zikama, the district executive secretary, said the existing partnership between the Police and the public, and the new approach by Imitavu bears fruitful outcomes in security and implementation of community development programmes.

"We have seen the impact Imitavu has had in Gahara, and we believe if the approach is replicated in other sectors, there will be a change of mindset towards crime,” said the executive secretary.

There is also a general sense among the residents that the strengthened partnership between RNP and Tanzania police will help deal with drug trafficking on both sides.

The two police institutions recently committed, among others, to conduct joint operations to destroy cannabis farms on the Tanzanian side.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw