TITLE:
Police-Citizen Collaboration on Security Enhancement in Gasabo District, Rwanda
AUTHORS:
Jean Bosco Kagame, Joyce Muchemi, Ruth Thinguri
KEYWORDS:
Community Policing, Police-Citizen Collaboration, Security Enhancement
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.11 No.8,
August
22,
2023
ABSTRACT: In Rwanda, the security situation was critical after the 1994 genocide
against Tutsi, and the government implemented mechanisms such as community policing
as a strategy to improve security. Yet, despite the introduction of community
police, the country still grapples with insecurity. The purpose of this study
was to determine the influence of police-citizen collaboration on security
enhancement in Gasabo District, Rwanda. The study adopted mixed methodology approach and the
concurrent triangulation design. The study targeted
approximately 139,358 household heads of Gasabo District, 73 Community
Policing Committee (CPC) chairpersons, 15 Community Liaison Officers, and 260
Police Officers. The study sampled 576 household heads for quantitative data
whereas the CPC chairpersons, Community Liaison Officers, Police Officers and
Opinion leaders were used for qualitative data. Multistage sampling technique was
used to select the participants. Questionnaire, interview guides and discussion
guides were used to collect data. The findings indicated that police-citizen collaboration had a positive
and significant influence on security enhancement. The study concluded that
police-citizen collaboration contributes significantly to security enhancement
in Gasabo District, Rwanda. The study recommended the need for RNP to
strengthen the police-citizen collaboration for security enhancement. In
particular, the institution should focus on enhancing the following
police-citizen collaboration aspects: community works (Umuganda), coordination
mechanism between police and community, forums to discuss crime issues between
the community and police, and trust between the police and the community.