SOCOs: 48 police officers apply to serve

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Forty-eight police officers have applied to be regraded to the Directorate of Forensic Science (DFS) to serve as Scene of Crime Officers (SOCOs).

SOCOs are police officers trained in scene preservation, evidence collection, exhibit packaging, exhibit transportation, and exhibit storage.

In an invitation written by the Acting Director of the Directorate of Forensic Science Andrew Mubiru, the 48 police officers will undergo three days of personal review exercise which started on Thursday purposely to assess their forensic abilities before they are recruited and taken for more training.

Out of the 48 applicants, three are at the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), one is at the rank of Assistant Inspector of Police (AIP), one Sergeant (SGT), one Corporal (CPL) while 42 are Police Constables.

URN understands that most of the applicants have certificates and diplomas in science-related cases and have been serving in police health services or under criminal investigations departments.

Mubiru in one of the interviews with URN about a year ago, said his directorate needed at least 2,640 forensic experts including SOCOs and exhibits analysts to implement the Subcounty based policing model suggested by President Yoweri Museveni in 2019.

Museveni said it is easier and cheaper to station enough police officers at the Subcounty so that they are in a position to respond to security emergencies in sufficient numbers and required equipment as opposed to clustering them in small police posts and booths.

But to effectively implement the proposed Sub-County model, it requires each station to have a SOCO, a CID commander, traffic officers, a Field Force Unit, and general duty police officers. As of now, DFS has 611 forensic experts meaning there is a deficit of more than 2,000 forensic scientists.

A well-trained forensic scientist, according to Mubiru can study the scene of a crime, run forensic tests, and avail evidence that would enable the successful prosecution of a criminal.

Some of the police officers invited for SOCO reviews include ASP Soulman Arinaitwe from Bwebajja Police Station, ASP Emmanuel Bagenda from Kalangala police station, ASP Arinda Moses Kabanza from Entebbe police station, AIP Elly Mukisa, Sgt Alfred Egwang and Cpl Patrick Okot.

The Inspector General of Police Martins Okoth Ochola said the Subcounty policing model is in advanced stages of implementation starting with Greater Masaka Region, where each sub-county will receive a vehicle, motorcycles, radio and personnel strength of 18.

*******

URN