The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Martins Okoth Ochola hailed the introduction of disciplinary courts in all districts across the country, as a milestone in efforts to enforce discipline in the force.
Mr. Ochola’s remarks came out at the launch of the Police Annual Crime Report 2023, on Wednesday at Naguru Police Headquarters.
In his remarks, Ochola said police the leadership through the past year, was focusing on strengthening discipline and adherence to human rights by police officers, in fulfilling the force’s mandate.
“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.” IGP Martin Okoth Ochola said.
According to the Annual Crime Report 2023, there was a 1.5% decrease in the volume of crimes across the country from 231,653 cases registered in 2022 to 228,074 cases in 2023. Theft topped the list with 65,901 cases reported in 2023, followed by assault 29,884, Sex-related offenses 14846, Breakings 14,543, Domestic Violence 14,681, Economic and corruption crimes 12,924, and 10,741 child-related offenses.
He added that the joint initiatives between Uganda police and it’s sister agencies such as the UPDF, Prisons, SFC, JIC (CMI, ISO, CI, and ESO), JATT, combated various forms of crime resulting 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.
However, the report findings show that in 2023, there was a 1.5% decrease in the number of crimes reported to Police from 231,653 cases reported in 2022 to 228,074 cases, signalling a dip in public confidence in the police force.
For traffic related crime, the 2023 report shows there was a 15.5% increase in common offenses and an increase in road traffic crashes from 456,993 cases registered in 2022 to 528,025 cases in 2023 of which 4,179 were fataI, 12,487 serious, and 6,942 were minor.
More concerning is the number of fatal crashes in 2023, which increased by 30 percent to 4179 from 3,210 in 2022.
The Police Annual Crime Report shows that 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. Out of the cases taken to court, 27,125 cases secured conviction, 843 cases were acquired, while 46, 843 are still pending in courts of law.
During the launch, the IGP appreciated members of the public who lodged complaints because it is from such information that form basis of the police annual report.
“I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to those who were able to lodge their complaints at various stations of the Uganda Police Force in the year 2023. It is these reported complaints that enable us compile Annual Crime Reports”. Ochola noted.