Police to install CCTV cameras at station receptions to address complacency

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Police have resolved to install Closed Circuit Television – CCTV cameras at all police stations receptions to monitor responses to public security concerns in order to curb complacency.

The Acting Police Director of Information Communication and Technology – ICT, Felix Baryamwisaki, said the cameras would be for purposes of monitoring the degree of response by police officers from the time a person reports an emergency or crime incident.

Baryamwisaki said on several occasions, cases reported by the public are not responded to for hours or even days something that results in suspects escaping or even killing their victims. The statement comes on the heels of allegations by relatives and friends of social worker Maria Nagirinya, that police was complacent in responding to their person’s kidnap.

Nagirinya was kidnapped last Wednesday alongside a driver, Ronald Kitayimbwa, from her home gate in Lungujja, Rubaga Division, Kampala. Their bodies were found in Nama Sub County, Mukono District last Friday.

The family said they went to Katwe Police Station minutes after Nagirinya was kidnapped but the officers instead referred them to Old Kampala Police Station, from where they were sent to Nateete Police Station. However, at Nateete, they were sent back to Katwe, until Nagirinya’s car could no longer be tracked through the CCTV network.

Police Chief Political Commissar Asan Kasingye says that the professional Standards Unit has already arrested the police officers who were reluctant in rescuing Nagirinya. Kasingye said all officers who do not act swiftly on security matters raised by the public will not be accommodated in Uganda police. The same warning was given by Deputy Inspector General of Police – DIGP Maj Gen Stephen Muzeeyi Sabiiti.

Baryamwisaki emphasized that if CCTV cameras are installed at reception desks, footage can be played to see how the officers on duty responded. He said they will be a supervisory tool on ensuring officers respond to public concerns with urgency.

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