Rwanda National Police(RNP), yesterday, marked its 18th anniversary commending the immense role of various players and the citizenry in general for driving the philosophy of community policing, a major factor credited for fighting and preventing crimes and promoting safety. The State Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Evode Uwizeyimana, who presided over the Police Day, said that the “18 years of RNP were not in vain; today we live in a safer country and governed by the system of partnership at all levels.” “Security is the foundation of social welfare and sustainable development…because of the existing partnership in policing, Rwanda is ranked one of the safest countries in the world,” the minister said. “Ensuring safety and security is a continuous act, it is a continuous journey, let’s continue to work together not to lean back. It requires laying effective strategies, strengthening partnership and teamwork to identify potential threats, share information and lay a ground for crime prevention. When a village is crime-free the country is safe and secure”. The latest world internal security and Police index ranked Rwandan National Police as Africa’s second best Police service after Botswana. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Emmanuel K. Gasana said: “This is the day to thank all Rwandans and all our partners for we know that without their partnership we wouldn’t be this far in making our country safe for all. This is also a day for us to look back and see where we have come from, where we are and devise effective measures to take us where we want to be in terms of security as a firm foundation towards sustainable development”. “Over the last 18 years, RNP achieved a lot in terms of capacity and skills development, acquired modern policing equipment; infrastructure development such as schools, offices and police quarters, building confidence and trust among Rwandans, and took part in international peace support operations, among others,” the Police Chief said. The registered milestone, he observed, was largely possible because of the support, good leadership and guidance of President Paul Kagame. The Police Day also marked the end of four weeks of community development activities under the auspice of the annual ‘Police Week.’ The pre-anniversary activities valued at over Rwf600 million included connecting over 3,000 households with solar energy, building offices for five of the 30 identified crime-free villages set to benefit from this reward, as well as constructing and renovating roads linking communities and constructing houses for the disadvantaged families. Other activities included raising awareness against high impact crimes that include drugs, gender based violence and child abuse, corruption, campaign to promote road safety and as well as security and hygiene in the City of Kigali. IGP Gasana said that this year’s theme of “Towards a crime-free village” falls under the five-year programme to predominantly shift from response to crime prevention, which greatly relies on strong partnership from the grassroots level. The Director General of Rwanda Management Institute, Wellars Gasamagera, who is also the chairman of Police Ambassadors, also said that “the country’s security and safety of people in Rwanda is for us all to make our villages crime-free and make our country safer.” The anniversary was also attended by other sister security institutions that include Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) and all entities under the justice sector, provincial governors and district mayors, NGOs, faith-based organizations and civil society as well as Youth Volunteers in Community Policing, among others. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
