Addressing the 3rd IACP Sub-Saharan Africa Executive Policing Conference in Kigali, President Kagame said: “It is evident that the security challenges of the twenty-first century are increasingly sophisticated as well as global, and require international collaboration to effectively combat them.”
Greater cooperation and integration and the use of technology could create a safer and more prosperous world, he said.
“The existence of regional police organisations such as the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (EAPPCO) in this region and similar others in south, west and central Africa is already an important part of the answer. At the continental level, I am pleased to learn that out of these regional efforts, a wider police organisation is being developed: the African Police Organisation.
The other part of the answer to current policing challenges is provided by technology, especially Information and Communication Technology. We are all aware of the immense opportunities digital technology offers for development in general and policing in particular. To take full advantage of these prospects, it is critical that police forces are connected internally and across the region, and set up the requisite infrastructure for gathering and sharing information.”
He noted that technology often comes with a downside, including security threats at various levels.
“As citizens, governments and industrialists put technology to the service of humanity, criminals are also quick to adopt and abuse this tool. In some cases they are ahead of law enforcement agencies. The emergence of cyber crime, which encompasses offences ranging from terrorism, money laundering, human trafficking, theft, fraud, drugs, blackmail and many more, constitutes a major challenge to police forces across the world.
To ensure that technology remains a force for good and that criminals are kept in check, the police have no choice but to be on top of latest developments in technology. This requires rethinking and reshaping our approach to community policing. In this respect, it is essential, first to establish a technology-based global framework for law enforcement. Secondly, it is necessary to establish greater harmonisation – of standards, regulations, laws and practices – in order to cope with the reality of globalisation and to safeguard the benefits of technology,” he said.
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Quelle/Source: BiztechAfrica, 10.03.2014
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