Increasing police size to combat crime

We welcome the government's move to induct more personnel in the police to deliver better on their primary responsibility to the people. No one will contest the argument that the size of our police is rather thin on ground, and beefing up of manpower is required in certain areas, particularly those related to fighting crime. 

However, for any force, particularly one that deals with law and order and day to day security of the people, quality of recruits is of the greatest importance, and this is where the force has been badly served. Political consideration, recommendation and extraneous influences have in effect resulted in the caderisation of the force, particularly at the lower level. 

The prevalent culture, that have straddled all governments, of recruiting members in the law enforcing agencies from their party cadres or supporters, may provide a degree of temporary comfort to the party in power, but that can never be a sustainable proposition and may even cause the force to wilt when it comes to the crunch. People so recruited will use their political clout to pervert the chain of command, leading to serious breaches of discipline and affecting the efficiency of the entire force

We should also remember that there may be comfort in numbers but that does not necessarily ensure the quality of output. Alongside ensuring that the most suitable are inducted in the job, the government should also invest in training the force in modern methods of crime fighting and providing it with contemporary equipment to keep pace with criminals who are constantly upgrading their operational methods to counter the law enforcers.