Crime report has good and bad news

Apr 02, 2010

THE 2009 crime report, released earlier this week, has both good and bad news for Uganda.The good news is that the over-all number of crime cases reported went down. There were less murders, sex-related crimes, economic crimes, burglaries and break-ins in 2009 than the previous year.

THE 2009 crime report, released earlier this week, has both good and bad news for Uganda.The good news is that the over-all number of crime cases reported went down. There were less murders, sex-related crimes, economic crimes, burglaries and break-ins in 2009 than the previous year.

There was, however, an increase in the number of corruption cases, ritual murders, robberies and accidents. There were also more offences against public order, mainly as a result of the Buganda riots.

Police boss Kale Kayihura attributes the general downward trend of cases reported to the reforms undertaken within the Police. Increased foot and motorised patrols in urban centres and on the highways have made the Police more visible and effective.

There is more timely intervention and response to distress calls. And the backlog of cases to be investigated has reduced dramatically – from 107,000 in 2007 to 42,000 last year. However, as Kayihura rightly noted, the number of corruption cases reported, 95, is still too low. “Unfortunately, few persons and even victims of corruption bother to report to Police for action,” he said.

This might be the case with other crimes as well. Mob justice claimed another 332 lives in 2009. People taking justice in their own hands is a vote of no-confidence in the system. Clearly, the Police boss has made tremendous efforts to build a more accountable, professional and modern force.

But more needs to be done to fight bribery and abuse of office within the Police, and to convince the public that when they report a case, justice will be done.

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