In a bid to restore public confidence and rein in a recent crime wave, Tanzania’s national police chief on Friday ordered publication of all senior officers’ phone numbers, including his own.
Inspector General Said Mwema said he hoped the move — coupled with instructions for officers to keep their cellular phones on — would boost communication between victims, witnesses and authorities and thus reduce crime.
”We want the public to be in contact with senior police officers all the time,” he said in a statement. ”I have also directed police officers that they should not switch off mobile phones and ensure that they remain available 24 hours a day.”
In addition to his own contacts, the order covers the office, home and cellphone numbers of all of Tanzania’s 26 regional police commanders, their deputies and top detectives at district headquarters.
Tanzania has seen a surge in crime in recent months with increasingly brazen daylight robberies leading to shoot-outs between police and thieves in and around the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam.
In the city and elsewhere, there have been numerous incidents of bank heists, carjackings and bus robberies as well as petty theft from individuals.
In one of the more spectacular incidents, gunmen on Monday seized more than $3-million belonging to the Stanbic Bank that was in transit from Dar es Salaam to the northern town of Arusha, according to police. — Sapa-AFP