The Federal Police Commission said that it has been working by the sweat of its brow to address shortcomings relating to crime investigation and prevention.
Foreign Relations and Peace Affairs Standing Committee of the House of Peoples’ Representatives held field supervision last week at Federal Police Commission.
Based on the discussion held at the meeting, the Standing Committee came up with a wide spectrum of questions that required detailed clarifications.
In the forum various questions have been entertained. A case in point, what the institution has been doing to build public trust in addition to exercising its power free from the influence of executive body. Furthermore, questions related to the level of crime prevention and the institution’s readiness to collaborate with stakeholders and other related aspects have been raised.
Commander Tekola Ayfokru, Deputy Commissioner of the Federal Police Commission and Head of Criminal Investigation Department said: “In the previous years, most of the activities of the commission were under the influence of the executive. Reform is underway to change such a corrupt process.”
He noted that investigation is not a matter of violating human and democratic rights with a view to giving pleasure to individuals, but it is the search for truth.
He stressed that the institute has investigated 18 major crimes. Due to the complexity of crime, there is growing mistreatment of suspects in various investigations. This being the case, the commission has been working day in and day out to achieve the desired goal.
For his part, Commander Melaku Fanta, Deputy Commissioner of the Commission and Head of Criminal Prevention Department said: “The commission is working hard to have a body that can ensure peace and security on a national scale. As peace is the basis of the whole thing worldwide, we attach importance to crime prevention. Nowadays, upgrading and maintaining security cameras at selected sites in Addis Ababa have been carried out to reap the fruit of success.”
Efforts are underway to strengthen coordination with stakeholders and provide police with on-the-job training that gives the green light to the police to equip themselves with the changing nature of crime.
As per the Federal Police Commission Commissioner General, Endashaw Tassew, over the past years, the institution had experienced quite a lot of internal and external problems. He went on to say: “By conducting a research that would fit with the new national change, a 6.4 billion birr project has been launched. The project will be put into effect in three years.”
Likewise, he called on the government to attach significance to the project for the reason that it plays a major role in crime prevention and making the police more connected to technology. Be that as it may, as our relationship with the Addis Ababa Police was not that strong over the past years, we need to work hand-in-glove to restore peace and security all over the country.
Chairperson of the Standing Committee, Tesfaye Daba, in his closing remarks said: “As the institution had been experiencing various problems regarding the protection of the constitutional rights of detained and convicted citizens, the Commission is working to resolve the problem through research.”
“The work which has been done targeting at keeping the commission free from political affiliation should be intensified. The incumbent should as well fulfill the different technologies for the intended target,” he wrapped up.
The Ethiopian Herald Friday 17 January 2020
BY ABDUREZAK MOHAMMED
