{The Rwanda National Police (RNP) awareness against crimes continued on January 18 where police officers reached out to over 53900 senior six leavers in the 148 camps where they are currently attending civic training locally known as Itorero
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Police officers across the country engaged the students on the current crime trends, urging them to actively be community policing agents to fight crimes like gender based violence, drug abuse and human trafficking.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Damas Gatare, commissioner for community policing, while speaking to students in Rusoro in Gasabo District, reminded them that the youth to be driven by moral values as a powerhouse of the country’s development.
He identified assault, rape, defilement, abortion, torture and murder as some of the gender related crimes brought about by gender inequality, ignorance, male chauvinism, drug abuse and property conflicts, among others.
“These result into diverse negative consequences such as unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, psychological trauma, family conflicts, death and physical disabilities,” said ACP Gatare.
He urged them to utilize the availed police facilities like toll-free lines (3512 for GBV,112 for emergency) to report such incidences and join the campaign to break stigma.
By breaking silence, he noted, it will facilitate to fight the crime and support victims access free legal, psycho-socio and legal services offered by Isange One Stop Centres located across the country.
The students were also explained at length on the pressing issue of human trafficking, how it’s conducted and what facilitates it, and the available means to fight it including laws, mass campaigns and the existing cooperation between RNP with other regional and international police institutions and organizations to rescue the victims and arrest trafficking rings.
With drug abuse being a common phenomenon among the youth, students were urged to refrain from such acts and concentrate on their studies, noting that selling and abusing drugs besides being illegal and punishable by the law, can also be a block to a brighter future.
Currently, cannabis, illicit gin like kanyanga and chief waragi, and other varied brands of locally made illicit brew are the common drugs listed in Rwanda.
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