Museveni’s sub county policing model workable – DIGP

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Deputy Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Tumusiime says President Museveni’s policing model of 18 officers per sub-county can be workable if funded.

He says funds are needed to have more personnel recruited and purchase of needed logistics.

President Museveni in an address about the security situation said the deployment of 18 police officers per sub-county could counter incidents similar to the recent killing of students by the ADF in Kasese district.

Major General, Tumusiime told journalists in Jinja city on Friday that the model suggested by the president supports the inclusion of specialized police units like the scene of crime officers, and traffic police among others.

With those in place, he said they meet the standard policing demands, amidst the ever-changing crime terrains across the country.

He said the model corresponds with timely response to the wider community’s security concerns since it comprises of direct communication lines, geared towards easing communication between the affected individuals and first responders, deployed at the sub-county police stations.

Tumusiime hinted at the possibility of reinstating police posts. He explained that the police posts were closed due to inadequacies in personnel and logistics required in modern policing. T

he inadequacies had according to the Police chief left deployed officers at the risk of losing their lives in case of an attack by organized criminals. He argues that the sub-county policing model increases the alertness of personnel and enables them to timely coordinate with superior commands.

Tumusiime held an interagency security meeting at the Jinja city’s civil service college, comprising of members from UPDF, prisons, the directorate of public prosecutions, politicians, and the judiciary, with hopes of finding a long-lasting solution insecurity in Kiira region.

The meeting was prompted by an outcry by embers of parliament about the emergence of gangs in the Jinja city’s suburbs of Bugembe, Namulesa, Wanyange and Mafubira.

Jinja Resident District Commissioner, Richard Gulume suggested that satellite police stations comprising about 10 men should be temporarily established at areas with high levels of crime, as they await the rollout of the sub-county policing model.

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