The Sunday Mail
The year 2014 has seen a slight reduction in general crime, but at the same time an increase in serious crimes such as armed robbery and rape. The Zimbabwe Republic Police has worked hard to deal with these and has met both success and frustration. The Sunday Mail Senior Reporter Kuda Bwititi (KB) last week spoke to ZRP Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba (CC) on the year that was.
KB: What would you say have been the ZRP’s major successes this year in its major areas of operations?
CC: The Zimbabwe Republic Police has a constitutional mandate which entails detecting, investigating and preventing crime, preserving the internal security of Zimbabwe, protecting and securing the lives and property of the people.
This mandate guides us in our policing operations as we strive to ensure that a conducive environment is available for various economic activities to take place in the country. This includes the elimination of fear of crime from our populace in their day-to-day life.
It is pleasing to note that the Zimbabwe Republic Police managed to reduce general crime by two percent in 2014 compared to 2013.
This came about because of our comprehensive crime management strategies coupled with the zeal and dedication to serve the community as exhibited by our police officers.
We also conducted extensive crime and traffic awareness campaigns in all parts of the country which include residential, industrial, farming and resort centres.
The co-operation given by the community has thus assisted in the implementation and success of our policing initiatives.
Our police officers are conducting surveillance and patrols along all our entry and exit points, arresting people who are evading paying duty and smuggling goods into and outside the country through our borders.
We have arrested people who were smuggling minerals such as gold, cigarettes and other valuable products while at the same time denying the country the necessary revenue. This operation has assisted ZIMRA to raise revenue for the fiscus.
In a bid to safeguard the country’s wild game and protect the gains realised in the tourism sector, significant arrests were made in terms of poaching syndicates, some who were using cyanide in areas such as Hwange Game Park. This led to the recovery of trophies, ivory and other game artefacts.
We conducted a national campaign against Gender Based Violence where we were focusing on abuse of women and children in a bid to curb domestic violence. The number of cases which we are receiving is now decreasing as a result of the campaigns.
KB: How far has the force gone in acquainting itself with the provisions of the new Constitution?
CC: ZRP members and officers are well acquainted with the provisions of the new Constitution as far as our constitutional mandate is concerned. Training of police officers on the new Constitution is an ongoing exercise at all the ZRP training institutions.
Our legal team is playing a pivotal role to assist police officers in correctly interpreting the provisions of the new Constitution in their day-to-day operations.
KB: The Zimbabwean police force is A as major contributor to peace keeping missions in trouble spots across the world. What major successes have you recorded this year on this front?
CC: It is gratifying to note that the ZRP is renowned for its professionalism and our members deployed on peace keeping duties have excelled wherever they are posted thus raising the Zimbabwean flag high and earning the country a good name in the field of international policing.
This is a result of our sound training policy, ethical and professional conduct. Some of our members deployed on UN missions have been appointed to leadership posts in various UN structures. These range from police advisors, operations commander, commissioner, etc. Currently we are inundated with requests to send more officers to these UN deployments.
KB: There have been several reported cases of corruption within the force, what measures have you put in place to curb this?
CC: We acknowledge that there are concerns from the general public about the conduct of some of our officers. We remain committed to weed out and cleanse the organisation of these undesirable elements that may spoil the whole basket of good apples.
We remain committed to carry out our constitutional duty that of protecting property and serve the public.
Remember, the ZRP has zero tolerance on corruption. Any member who deviates from this stance is dealt with in terms of the country’s law besides facing disciplinary action.
I want to point out that we have arrested both members of the public and police details in cases of corruption. We will continue to monitor everyone in society with a view of nipping corruption in the bud.
KB: Zimbabwe has witnessed a spike in the number of criminal cases such as rape and burglary. What do you attribute this to and what steps have been put in place to ensure that the country records a drop in such cases?
CC: While we have realised a decrease of general crime by two percent in 2014, as ZRP we have stepped up our crime fighting strategies which are specifically targeted at curbing these rape and unlawful entry and theft cases.
These strategies include conducting educational campaigns throughout the country to conscientise the public on how to secure their property, adopting target hardening and target removal techniques in order to curb crime.
Patrols have been intensified in residential and industrial areas where we are monitoring the selling of second hand clothes at flea markets, shops and other retailers.
We encourage members of the public to report cases as soon as possible so that police officers will attend while the scene is still fresh. This will assist police in gathering evidence.
KB: We are already in the festive season, what measures have you put in place to ensure that the country’s roads are safe for the travelling public?
CC: Police officers will be deployed in full force on the country’s highways so that people may enjoy the holidays without fear of accidents and crime. Foot, cycle and motorised patrols will be intensified in all residential, industrial and farming areas.
We are going to impound all defective vehicles and arrest drivers who will be found violating traffic rules and regulations.
As an organisation, we are working with other stakeholders like the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe and Vehicle Inspection Department to carry out traffic awareness campaigns during this festive season. Let us all co-operate with the police and ensure an accident and crime free holiday.
KB: Zimbabwe has over the last decade witnessed an increase in political violence cases, but this year, I believe we have witnessed a dramatic drop in such cases. What do you attribute this drop to?
CC: His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde R.G. Mugabe is against violence and has always preached the gospel of peace at all fora. His message (adapted from the late Vice President John Landa Nkomo) that, “Peace begins with me, peace begins with you and peace begins with all of us”, has now been engrained in the public.
As police we are indeed gratified that this ‘No to Violence’ stance has cascaded to all structures of the community. The ZRP has conducted awareness campaigns were we have discouraged the public from resorting to violence as a way to resolve political or personal differences. We have also ensured that the law takes its course on all perpetrators of violence in the country. Some of the cases are pending before the courts.
KB: What measures are you putting in place to ensure that police holding cells, which were recently condemned by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, meet standards that are set by the Constitution?
CC: Policing requires adequate funding to effectively carry out the mandate. As alluded to by the Honourable Chief Justice, we have engaged the relevant arms of Government for the cells to be upgraded, however, due to the current liquidity crunch being experienced by the country, the cells cannot be renovated at once.
A phased programme is on the offing and our treasury is looking into modalities of this programme.
