AS it may be debatable that man is as old as crime in a society, it is worth noting that criminals are not born but made by different circumstances ranging from peer influence to environmental/ situational factors, which must be constantly monitored and kept under control for peace and harmony to prevail where one calls home even if not homely.
” This is not “a chain” propounded by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in his book of The Social Contract, but precisely to bring sanity, freedom of movement and acquisition of property in a society as it is enshrined in any country for the Police force as it reinforces law and order. In a nutshell if there is no crime in a society, there would be no Police force in the society to maintain law and order and for this matter all sorts of pats on back should be directed to the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed between Tanzania and Mozambique police forces that will see the two sides cooperating in curbing terrorism, drugs trafficking and other cross-border crimes as far as in East Africa and other neighbouring countries.
This is also in the Bible- Proverbs 13:24 that when you spare a rod you spoil your child…that one who loves their children is careful to discipline them. Take the case of most of the stolen cars in Uganda ending up being sold in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan and Rwanda, according to Uganda Director of Police, Asan Kasingye. He says the chain of theft of the cars, in Kampala was being masterminded by a gang operating around Arua Park in down town Kampala and neighbouring garages.
He furthers says that either way, many of the stolen motor vehicles are never recovered and successful thefts or robberies only encourage criminals to steal more vehicles. For instance in 2013, the number of motor vehicles either stolen or robbed was 670 and in the first six months of 2014, the number increased to 792, according to the police crime reports, with recovery becoming more difficult because the criminals are becoming craftier in their illicit trade.
Mr Kasingye, cites instability in eastern DR Congo and South Sudan as making Interpol systems detecting vehicles stolen from the neighbouring countries becoming impossible, in another way meaning markets for the stolen vehicles must widen.
However, whoever has also been robbed, or abused in the society in anyway will always support the top cops’ moves to provide for an exchange of intelligence information to safeguard their citizens’ peace and property at all costs. In the event the Inspector Generals of Police (IGP) from Tanzania and Mozambique, Simon Sirro and Bernardino Rafael, signed the document in Dar es Salaam, and before putting ink on paper, IGP Sirro told reporters that, after operations carried out by the Tanzania Police Force in Ikwiriri, Kibiti (Coast Region) and some parts of Mtwara Region the indiscriminate killings of innocent law-abiding citizens was allegedly caused by some perpetrators who then crossed over to neigbouring Mozambique.
“If they crossed the border to our neighbours, it doesn’t mean we are safe, we have to work with our counterparts from Mozambique to deal with these criminals,” IGP Sirro emphasised. He noted that there was a report to the effect that four people allegedly linked to the violence in Coast Region and crossed the border, had been killed in Mozambique, saying since East Africa and neighbouring countries were committed on fighting all forms of crime, it was difficult for the perpetrators to hide in any of those countries without being arrested. “If you hide in Rwanda, Congo, Burundi and Mozambique, you are not safe….
we are working together and we share intelligence information. Africa is one and we are cooperating with our colleagues in the rest of East Africa and Africa simply because we want people to live peacefully,” IGP Sirro said. It was welcoming to see his Mozambican counterpart IGP Bernardino Rafael, thanking the Tanzanian government and its people after signing the MoU, saying: “We want to fight crimes in collaboration with Tanzania; we have to keep our borders safe…the agreements would enable both countries to translate the idea into reality.
” As the Police bosses are doing their part, it is also the onus of the citizens of the EAC member states to see into it that they inform the police of the suspected criminals living in their midst. It is common knowledge that criminals do not work in isolation and more so do not come from heaven, they are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces of our parents who do not want peace to prevail but simply look for selfish shortcuts and readymade- things without volunteering to work and pay taxes.
As citizens of EAC we should support the police force(s) to fight criminals tooth and nail because if one escapes in the jaws of the criminals who pounce first, reporting the case to the police would come in the second stage and normally the police would arrive later when the criminals are already on the run.
It is possible if the citizens see the essence of “policing” themselves first before teaming up with Police chiefs of Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan especially combat cross border crimes and establish interstate communication among their forces. The citizens should not harbor a culture of blaming the Police who are not angels when the criminals strike, but play their role first also and wait for the forces to professionally lay strategies to nail the criminals wherever they would dream to hide.
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