Members of community policing in Kicukiro District should not relax their guard but instead step up crime prevention, Mayor Paul Jules Ndamage has said.Ndamage was yesterday addressing community policing members from all villages in the district at a two-day training in Kicukiro.The training is geared at providing participants with basic knowledge about their work.The participants will be briefed on crime prevention and information sharing as well as the protection of crime scenes and exhibits.Ndamage encouraged the community policing to become the eyes of community by focusing on the root causes of conflicts in their respective villages, and to connect the community to the Police as well as to help Police in security activities to achieve sustainable security.“The number of Police officers is not enough to manage the millions of Rwandans, so community policing must link Police to the community to prevent crimes,” Ndamage said, highlighting drug abuse and prostitution among the crimes to look out for.The Regional Police Commander for Kigali City, Bosco Rangira, said the training would empower participants to maintain security by discovering the causes of insecurity.Beatrice Mukagasana, a participant, said the workshop had enlightened her on crime prevention.“This will enable us to work towards having a crime free society,” she said. “Some of the lessons from the workshop seem to be new. For instance we have been supporting victims without considering protection of crime scenes,” Swahib Nizeyimana said.Community policing was established in 2007 to strengthen partnership between the police and the community by preventing crimes through the use of crime prevention tactics and information sharing or simply engaging the public in fighting and preventing crimes.
