CORRUPTION! AIGP Akullo warns cops: You’ll be captured

By Francis Otucu

Police Director in charge Criminal Investigations has warned officers against involvement in acts of corruption.

Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Grace Akullo made the strong warning Friday afternoon as she closed two weeks of training for records officers at the CID headquarters, Kibuli.

“Desist from corruption. Stop negotiating cases. Stop hiding files. Stop hiding critical pages of  a statement. You are endangered. Don’t think it’s going to be business as usual. We are going to intensify inspection. You will be captured,” AIGP Akullo warned.

AIGP Akullo’s second warning was against leaking of critical and confidential information by records officers.

“You handle a lot of official and confidential information. It is criminal to release such confidential and restricted  information to the public. You receive and compile this information yet go ahead to release it, you will be charged for computer misuse,” she warned as officers listened carefully. 
She noted that records management is critical in timely provision of returns.
“Your job is critical and important in the criminal justice system and criminal management. You aren’t a storeman. Your work entails a lot. For example, reminding the OCID the next date for a case to return to court. If there isn’t a file in court, you are the first suspect,”  she said.

Earlier, Lucy Ladira, the Criminal Justice Adviser at the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) stressed the need for records officers.

“What you capture either makes or breaks the image of the institution. Correct and timely information is critical. That’s why we put aside resources to train you. If you capture wrong statistics, it will have an impact on the economy. Crime report will inform whether an investor should come and invest in Uganda,” she said adding, accurate figures helps not only police as an institution in planning but government. Ladira also stressed the need for officers to dispose off cases within three and six months for non capital and capital offences respectively to avoid case backlog. “Those cases are soiling our statistics” she said. She tasked the officers to embrace Integrated Information Management Systems, a high-end reporting format for better record keeping. “Be more proactive in engaging your bosses on the status of these files. Go back, read, research, build yourself and do better,” Ladira said, promising more support to the Police Force.

According to Francis Okello, the Assistant Commissioner, CID Training School, poor record keeping leads to inaccurate statistics. “There public therefore think it is as a result of corruption in the police yet they are as a result of poor record keeping. Records have been managed poorly leading to huge statistics. Records are key in fight against crime,” he told participants.

A similar call was made by Commissioner of Police, Moses Irungu. “Case file is about records. Without you, keeping records would be very hard,” he said, reminding the officers of the importance of the office they hold.

Earlier, participants’ coordinator, Simon Peter Otim highlighted challenges records officers face. Lack of secure transport, computer knowledge, lack of secure storage facilities and challenges is adopting to the new reporting format, IIMS emerged top challenges. However, even with the challenges, Otim said they left the training, better records managers. 
Responding to Otim’s remarks, AIGP Akullo advised the officers to invest in themselves like; get basic computer training, acquire personal computers and acquaint themselves with technology. Others like transport, allowances and better storage facilities, AIGP Akullo said, are being worked on. She, however, tasked the officers to be creative. “Be creative. We have limited resources everywhere, even in government. Advise your bosses, you have been trained. Ensure orderly movement of files.We have engaged and are ready to provide revenue and resources to aid your work. We are planning to provide motorcycles in some months to come, to help in your travels. We are working on your allowances. Sometimes you work late or need to jump on a boda. The allowances should be able to help you. Handle CRMS alongside manual files. Within some few months, we will supply computers. It is for your own good to know computers. That’s self development. We shall continuosly train, you will have someone to help you,” she said. 
The Friday concluded course had 103 officers trained by facilitators from Uganda Management Institute (UMI), JLOS and the Uganda Police Force.