The Sunday Mail
The Zimbabwe Republic Police is reviewing its educational entry requirements and promotion criteria to improve the calibre of officers, Commissioner-General of Police Dr Augustine Chihuri has said.
He indicated that this had been prompted by junior officers who consistently showed “professional narrowness”, adding that the force could not be “an oasis of ignorance”.
Dr Chihuri said this as he officiated at Friday’s ZRP Staff College graduation ceremony in Harare.
Presently, minimum entry requirements into the force at constable level include being aged between 18 and 30 years, and having five Ordinary Level passes (Grade C or better) in not more than three sittings, with English Language and Mathematics being compulsory.
Dr Chihuri said, “Very soon, the organisation will review its recruitment policies in keeping with global trends and demands of the job. The immediate consequence of such action would be upward review of educational qualifications of a police recruit.
“Necessarily, this will raise the bar for promotion exercises. This should not cause anyone to panic. But I trust that you also agree that it is high time we upped the tempo.
“I’m also hopeful that Staff College will take time to also introduce additional courses that address novel policing challenges such as forensic science, forensic psychology, research and development.”
He said recruiting on the strength of physical attributes was now in the past, highlighting that modern crime-fighters should be equipped to tackle complex crimes.
“The deliberate Government policies on education adopted immediately after the country’s Independence saw a new thrust towards building the skills and knowledge requirements of members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
“Admittedly, the era of merely tall, brazen-faced, broad chest, bold voice and shiny-shoed officers has been swallowed into the recesses of policing history.
“It is for that reason that we are gathered here today, for the conferment convocation of a total of 515 graduands in seven categories of study. Higher educational qualifications continue to enable the ZRP to build its depth and to confidently tackle the challenges of complex modern-day transactional crime.
“Adjusting to changing technology and numerous challenges of contemporary globalised criminal networks places on any forward-looking officer the need to learn continually through life.”
He went on: “As commanders, we get concerned when our officers exhibit professional narrowness. Our desire is to imbue police officers with the learning spirit that was in Ezra, the Jewish priest and scribe who devoted his heart to study.
“For all intents and purposes, a forward-looking organisation like the ZRP cannot afford to lag behind the criminal world of today which is proving to be more organised and educated.
“Society expects police officers to be bonus pater familias that answer to their idiosyncratic needs. Similarly, rapid globalisation has given birth to various other influences and criminal paradigms, laying bare the need to re-engineer the organisation’s philosophical outlook and views about education.
“There s no doubt about the amount of influence our country is experiencing from the forces of globalisation. We now need to develop a police officer capable of detecting and neutralising the threat of cyber crimes previously unknown in our jurisdiction.
“With threats of cyber crime becoming more pronounced each day, ZRP cannot be an oasis of ignorance and an organisation that suffers from tunnel vision.”
