Africa-Press – Botswana. President Advocate Duma Boko has emphasised the need to transform Botswana police personnel into a more effective workforce through the intergration of technology.
Officially opening the 51st Botswana Police Senior Officers Annual Conference in Gaborone on Tuesday, President Boko said currently police officers spent 60 per cent of their time behind the desk doing paper work, while with the advent of technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) the 60 per cent could be translated into time in the field deterring crime.
“Augment human capability through technology to improve service delivery,” said President Boko, adding that through the safer city initiative the police service installed surveillance cameras at strategic locations to detect crime in locations that were not covered through foot patrols.
Additionally, President Boko said drones could also help in patrols, as the use of vehicles patrol tended to blow cover and limit their capacity. With the use of technology, President Boko said human patrol would only be engaged when the need arose, adding that the use of drones and other technological instruments would deter criminals.
President Boko also added that Intellectual Property (IP) would mean coming up with ingenuity and innovations that ought to be patented.
“As you face challenges, think of how your IP will be used to fight crime. Come up with something new that you will patent. Adopting technological means of enhancing your approach to crime does not mean using what is already in the market. You are capable, you understand your work challenges, therefore come up with ideas to resolve them and stand counted among the world’s leaders in security innovations,” said President Boko.
The conference was held under the theme: Innovative Approaches in Modern Policing: Closing Gaps and Building Trust.
President Boko said gaps that appeared in the policing strategies might be a result of their physical absence, rendering it necessary to introduce technology to close the gap left by their absence.
He also opined that crime could be fuelled by some societal challenges such as lack of empowerment opportunities, mostly among the youth.
“Despite your efforts, your challenges will continue to mount as long as challenges such as unemployment continues to exist,” he said, adding that government was equally faced with a task of addressing a mirage of challenges affecting its people. He said diamonds were the primary source of government revenue, regretting that their sales had dropped, affecting government coffers.
“Currently we only wish to improve your conditions of service, which include salary adjustments. But based on the current situation we are not capable of doing so. Our sources of revenue have run dry,” he said. President Boko also welcomed the Adopt-a-Police-Station initiative, saying businesses would not grow in an area infested with crime. As such the business community must aid the police to improve security service.
However, he cautioned that adopting a police station did not mean the concerned business would have complete control over such a station and would be immune to facing the wrath of the law if need be.
President Boko also acknowledged that in their line of duty, police officers encountered challenging scenes affecting them emotionally and psychologically, as such it was necessary to offer them counselling.
“I can confirm that government is determined to improve your work environment as well as provide you with the necessary training,” he said.
President Boko further said building trust and giving feedback to customers were ideal ingredients to creating a resilient community policing strategy.
“The community will be able to work with you, assist in fighting crime with the true belief that the reported criminal acts will be investigated and perpetrators be punished without violating anyone’s human rights,” he said.
He said giving feedback to customers was equally important as it reduced negative posture in the public eye and increased trust on the service.
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