Following the most recent ranking of the Uganda Police Force as the “kindest police” in the World, by the world Internal Security and Police Index (WISP), Inspector General of Police (IGP) Martin Okoth Ochola has come out to thank all officers who conducted themselves professionally, and with great restraint in the course of their duties.
The ranking measured the police’s reaction to the threats faced in the performance of their duties. It also included acts of provocation by the general public.
“We have seen many cases of unprovoked attacks applied on officers through punching, kicking, preventing or spitting on an officer, threats to officers during arrests, gun grabbing. Just last week, our male officer was grabbed by the collar and another pinned to the wall, while manning the Court of Appeal offices at Twed Towers.
We are aware of the environment we police in, where violent actors engage in a whole range of unlawful and provocative behavior that prompt officers to defend themselves in a way that leads to use of force, including firing their weapons. Fortunately enough, our officers managed to de-escalate most of the violent situations and restored calm,” said Ochola in a statement.
Ochola said he will continue to push for an end to the use of force in by issuing circulars encouraging officers to resolve incidents before needing to turn to a deadlier force, involving the use of a gun.
“We continue to renew our use of force policies and procedures, and we are exploring many options available to our frontline officers and supervisors without resorting to impact weapons or lethal force,” he said.