Police canine unit team with some of the dogs they train to combat crime
In spite of a 1.5 per cent decrease in crimes committed between January and Decem- ber, 2023 compared to the previous year, the Uganda Police Force still faces major challenges, writes Geofrey Serugo.
On February 21, Martin Okoth Ochola, the recently retired inspector general of police, released the Police Annual Crime Report 2023 in which he noted that the reduction is a result of enforcing discipline within the force, commitment to improving the conditions in detention facilities and coordination with sister security agencies as well as the strategic partnerships with the community, including the involvement of other intelligence components have greatly contributed to disrupting and dismantling criminal elements targeting our country.
“Despite considerable challenges faced and violent acts by groups like ADF, the force has remained dedicated to its mission. The force has also worked extensively on resolving cases related to domestic violence, land conflicts, armed robberies, and attacks on schools, thereby bringing justice to those affected,” he said.
The report shows that crimes have reduced from 231,653 cases in 2022 to 228,074 in 2023. Ochola attributed the slight reduction to collaborative efforts with sister security agencies such as the UPDF, Prisons and JIC. He also noted that the expansion of the police canine unit, reorganisation of the CID, improved detection methods, and strategic partnerships with the community greatly contributed to the
improvement
CANINE UNIT SHINES
Uganda Police canine unit is a specialised unit that works hand in hand with other departments to prevent, detect and investigate crime. The unit also gives support functions to the anti-narcotics department by providing narcotics detection dogs at Entebbe international airport and other border points with Explosive detection dogs to the directorate of counter terrorism.
According to the report, the unit carried out 20,897 trackings, arresting 16,341 persons while 6,554 exhibits were recovered with the help of the canine unit. This is an improvement of 21 per cent from the previous year. Reflecting on the massive improvement, Aferino Ngabirano joined the canine unit in 1991 when it was in a deplorable state.
“It was the unit for failures and the morale was low at the time,” he says. “At the time, the dogs were stationed at just 13 police stations in the country and we could not do more than 100 cases a year.”
But since 2010, when the unit undertook an ambitious expansion program, the results have seen every regional police station having sniffer dogs along with their handlers. In fact, the dogs have been deployed at 91 stations at the moment.
“This expansion has been achieved through operationalization of a breeding and training program at Naggalama and we are working to ensure that every police station around the country has at least two sniffer dogs,” he says.
Ngabirano further attributes the success to the mass training of dog handlers as well as increment in the number of track dogs and those for explosive and narcotics detection.
“A sniffer dog’s sense of smell is 20,000 times better than that of a human being. So, the dogs have greatly helped in the tracking of criminals,” he says.
Efforts to reach out to Dr Martin Mugume, the unit commandant, were futile but records show that today, the percentage coverage of the canine unit countrywide is 46% and, according to Ngabirano, it is expected to rise up 60 per cent by 2026.
STRATEGIES FOR CRIME PREVENTION AND REDUCTION
For enhanced application of science in investigations, UPF is continually integrating the use of science in investigations to support traditional methods of relying on witnesses and confessions. The scientific tools include CCTV cameras, application of forensic science, canine, telephone-tracking equipment etc.
The plan is to have these widely available across the country fully manned by personnel who can exploit them maximumly.
Source: The Observer
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