The Rwanda National Police (RNP) will later this month begin a community policing strategy aimed at directly involving all Rwandans.

This was announced on Thursday by the Commissioner General of Police, Andrew Rwigamba, during a press briefing at the police headquarters in Kacyiru.

Rwigamba, who was flanked by the Deputy Commissioner General Mary Gahonzire, said that the move will reinforce crime prevention efforts through police working with local communities in identifying security threats and finding solutions to them.

He explained: "In a bid to operationalise the concept of community policing, the cabinet last year approved the formation of community policing committees at local community levels. The elections of people in these committees will begin on 23rd this month."

He added that members of the community policing committees will be at village and cell levels.

The police chief was upbeat that through this participatory approach, timely information on crime will be provided and people will have more trust in the force.

In this new approach, people who make up the committees will offer voluntary services while funding will only go to coordination work and carrying out sensitisation seminars.

At village level, the committee will be led by the village leader (chairman), the secretary in charge of security and three other people elected by the village advisory committee.

Members of the community policing committees at the cell level will include the cell executive secretary (chairman), heads of the committees in all villages that constitute the cell, and the cell’s youth and women representatives.

Others are the people responsible for security in all villages constituting the cell, and the Local Defence Unit leader in each cell.

A community liaison officer (a police officer) stationed at the sector level will coordinate the activities.

Ends