By Steven Enatu
NATIONAL
The force registered a 1.5% decrease in the number of crimes reported to Police from 231,653 cases reported in 2022 to 228,074 cases.
This was revealed today, 21st February, 2024 during the Police Annual Crime Report launch at the Police headquarters, Naguru.
The Inspector General of Police, Martin Okoth Ochola commended the public for lodging their complaints at various stations of the Uganda Police Force in the year 2023. This he said made them able to compile the Annu Crime report 2023.
He attributed the success to the hard work of the police in coordination with sister security agencies, improved detection and investigation methods, and the establishment of a proactive network of credible intelligence.
“Furthermore, our strategic partnerships with the community, including the involvement of other intelligence components have greatly contributed to disrupting and dismantling criminal elements targeting our country” he stressed.
Relatedly, Ochola noted that the force has focused on strengthening discipline and adherence to human rights by introducing disciplinary courts in all districts across the country.
“The introduction of disciplinary courts marks a significant milestone for the Uganda Police Force. These courts aim at enforcing discipline within the force, ensuring that officers adhere to professional standards and human rights. For instance, out of 933 complaints of human rights violations by the police, 794 were thoroughly investigated,” he said.
He said the police, in coordination with sister security agencies such as the UPDF, Prisons, SFC, JIC (CMI, ISO, CI, and ESO), JATT, combated various forms of crime which resulted in the reduction of gun-related crimes, illegal firearms and ammunition proliferation, terrorism, gang activities, marine crimes,
housebreaking, burglaries, acid attacks, motor vehicle thefts, and cattle raids in Karamoja and neighboring districts, among others.
Out of the total cases reported to Police countrywide, 84,907 cases were taken to Court, 48,632 cases were not proceeded with, while 94,535 cases are still under inquiry according to the report.
Directorate of Traffics and road safety registered 15.5% increase in common offences countrywide from 456,993 cases registered in 2022 to 528,025 cases in 2023. Road Traffic Crashes increased in 2023 as compared to 2022 with 23,608 crashes reported to Police, out of which 4,179 were fatal, 12,487 were serious and 6,942 were minor.
