{"id":29275,"date":"2016-10-10T01:24:54","date_gmt":"2016-10-10T01:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/how-irondo-has-added-value-to-safety-and-security\/"},"modified":"2016-10-10T01:24:31","modified_gmt":"2016-10-10T01:24:31","slug":"how-irondo-has-added-value-to-safety-and-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/how-irondo-has-added-value-to-safety-and-security\/","title":{"rendered":"How Irondo has added value to safety and security in Neighbourhoods"},"content":{"rendered":"

{Like the saying goes, \u201cIf gold rust what shall the iron do\u201d so is Rwanda\u2019s security that has been the main pillar in shaping what the country\u2019s development and its people\u2019s welfare are today.}<\/p>\n

Rwandans believe they couldn\u2019t be where they are today hadn\u2019t it been for the safety they enjoy. In fact, security in Rwanda has been taken on a broader perspective beyond guns, armed men, and policemen. The policy of inclusiveness and participation in security matters has been viewed as one of the major driving forces behind Rwanda\u2019s achievement.<\/p>\n

Among many security success stories is Irondo \u2013 community night patrol – a home grown solution where able and determined men organise themselves in groups and patrol their neighbourhoods especially at night.<\/p>\n

Precisely, for anyone who has walked or driven around any suburb in Rwanda at night, there are higher chances that you may encounter a group of uniformed men sometimes walking in a line or standing in different spots.<\/p>\n

These are men of integrity who are selected by their communities to conduct neighbourhood watch that is commonly known as Irondo as one of the compositions of community policing<\/p>\n

They are regarded as people who have selflessly committed to ensure safety in their communities at almost no cost.<\/p>\n

Gasabo is one of the districts considered as models of community policing and effectiveness of Irondo in particular.<\/p>\n

Vincent Bimenyimana, a resident of Gasharu Village, Musezera Cell of Gisozi Sector in Gasabo, says: \u201cI personally consider Irondo as an assurance for me to run my businesses effectively\u2026. I can close my shop and go home without fear that someone will break-in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bimenyimana, a father of four runs a boutique to which his family survives.<\/p>\n

He attributes his business growth to security.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be where we are today if we had left matters of security to the military and police. We have been empowered and trusted with our own security; that leaves us challenged because our security is our life and development, and community policing gives us that power to shape our future,\u201d says Bimenyimana.<\/p>\n

John Habimana is one of the men, who brave the coldness, rain and sleepless nights patrolling their village in Gasabo.<\/p>\n

Habimana says he derives his courage from the trust people have in him and the fact that he wants to see his descendants live in a safe country.<\/p>\n

Habimana who is also the coordinator of Irondo in Gisozi Sector, says that every evening he dresses up in his uniform joins his colleagues and plan for the night.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe identify key hot spots and deploy ourselves accordingly. We communicate using different means but mostly we use telephones. What we do isn\u2019t an easy job but it eventually pays off,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Habimana gives a recent scenario of a man identified as Joseph Rumanzi who got drunk and started up a fight at around 4:30am. Residents called Irondo for intervention.<\/p>\n

\u201cUpon arriving at the scene, we realised Rumanzi was extremely violent, he was using everything harmful to attack anyone who got near him. We immediately called the police and collectively managed to restrain him\u2026.in our work we ensure we collaborate closely with police because there are situations that are sometimes beyond our ability and require higher skills,\u201d Habimana says.<\/p>\n

Irondo structure.<\/p>\n

Irondo is structured in a way that residents in every village nominate members – men of integrity and discipline – to conduct Irondo, and a village commander.<\/p>\n

All village commanders in each particular cell meet and nominate one of them as a cell commander. At the sector level, and cell commanders report to the sector commander of which every sector commander must have an office and assisted by two other people.<\/p>\n

All the mentioned members of irondo, however, report to their sector Executive Secretary.<\/p>\n

According to Theophile Niragire, the Executive Secretary of Gisozi Sector, Irondo has made residents in his sector feel protected.<\/p>\n

\u201cGisozi was previously known of house break-ins and as a den of drug abusers, but ever since we streamlined irondo, the trend has reversed. Because of the importance of irondo services, residents are keenly providing contributions to ensure its done in the most efficient manner,\u201d said Niragire.<\/p>\n

He went on to add that with 115 members of irondo covering 8.2 sq km that make up Gisozi, there is security and safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cGisozi is becoming an impossible area for criminals because there is irondo in every corner. Besides, residents feel the responsibility to be part of policing their neighbourhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we talk about matter of security, we don\u2019t discuss matters of today and tomorrow\u2026 we plan big and plan for a long time. We do that with all our stakeholders on board.\u2026. there is no doubt the bright future of Gisozi .\u201d<\/p>\n

Rwanda National Police (RNP) as an organ that has for long championed community policing says that irondo is a top notch as it serves as an effective approach towards solving localised security problems.<\/p>\n

According to Gasabo District Police Commander (DPC) Superintendent of Police (SSP) Valence Muhabwa, Irondo has served as force multiplier and narrowed the Police-Public ratio in responding to crime.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith community policing, we have recorded a tremendous decrease in the number of crimes reported. The rate at which crimes are reported is also increasing\u2026policing is made easier when people understand their role and contributes towards achieving safety. In practice, irondo has helped in stopping crimes before they are committed, intercepted criminals and quick intervention where necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

The community policing framework drawn and implemented by Gasabo residents sets a model to other parts of the country as the best example on how the community-based crime prevention strategy can actually lead to sustainable security.<\/p>\n

To the Mayor of Gasabo district, Steven Rwamurangwa, community policing ushered in a new sense of belonging and irondo has contributed tremendously to that.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach household in Gasabo contributes between Rwf500 to Rw5000 depending on their financial ability. It is from these contributions that the district installed CCTV cameras in congested and other areas that are prone to criminal activities and established control rooms, bought patrol vehicles to facilitate civilian patrols for quick intervention in case of need and built community policing posts also called \u2018Irondo posts\u2019 in almost every corner of the district,\u201d said the Mayor.<\/p>\n

All the 15 sectors of Gasabo have Irondo patrol vehicles.<\/p>\n

Irondo posts and the control rooms operate 24 hours and have helped residents to report crimes for civilians patrols to intervene in situations in time, says the mayor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese CCTV cameras have aided security organs and irondo to identify criminals and posts also act as centres for the community to report their grievances or collect their recovered equipment,\u201d Rwamurangwa explained.<\/p>\n

The vehicle also acts as a pick up for people like drunkards, to their homes.<\/p>\n

Gasabo district has 2219 well trained and facilitated members of Irondo and according to the Mayor, Gasabo\u2019s ambition is to increase the number in a way that crime rates fall tremendously.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a general sense of responsibility and spirit among communities towards sustainable security. This has enabled Irondo to effectively execute their tasks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeriodic trainings offered to patrol groups have also instilled discipline, hard work and accountability in them and has contributed to the success of community policing,\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n

He went on to say that there is much efforts directed towards making Gasabo a crime free society.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we have a toll free line – 1520 – for anyone who has any security related concern in Gasabo District.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

{Like the saying goes, \u201cIf gold rust what shall the iron do\u201d so is Rwanda\u2019s security that has been the main pillar in shaping what the country\u2019s development and its people\u2019s welfare are today.} Rwandans believe they couldn\u2019t be where they are today hadn\u2019t it been for the safety they enjoy. In fact, security in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[550],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-29275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-police"],"bylines":[{"id":550,"name":"Police","slug":"police","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":null}],"contributors":[{"id":550,"name":"Police","slug":"police","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":null}],"featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29275\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29275"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=29275"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=29275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}