A section of researchers from Makerere University are in collaboration with the officials from training department of Uganda Police Force, mooting plans to integrate soft skills in the Police training of programs.
In a stakeholders meeting between researchers from Makerere University and the Leadership of Police trainers at Police Senior Command and Staff College, Bwebajja, the two parties unanimously agreed that the police officers need these skills.
“Before using the hard way, we think police can apply soft skills in escalating times like the demonstrations,” Dr. Badru Musisi, the Principal Investigator of the project said. Therefore, “We think the Integration of soft skills in the training modules of police will help in not only correcting the operations of the police but also rescue the dying image of police,” he added.
According to Dr. Musisi, soft skills are non-technical personal attributes needed by police officers to relate well with community while executing their works.
Soft Skills include communication skills, spiritual activity, changing the personality of people, active listening, multi-cultural context of Uganda, Counseling, factful, sensitization and Time management. Others are; timely solutions, empathy, common sense, mediation, negotiation, persuasive, objectivity, physical stamina, verbal and non-verbal communication.
“This can easily be achieved if we encourage rebooting, retooling, and resetting the force though relearning, unlearning and learning to learn,”
Speaking at the meeting, SCP Moses Kafeero, the Commandant of the Police Senior Command and Staff College welcomed the idea and said that it will be a lasting solution to the problems officers encounter in the field. “We want a situation where the officer will fully engage for example the demonstrators fully and by the time they use a gun shot, it’s too worse but when each and every option has been explored,” he said. “We are going to work together and ensure that these Soft Skills are properly formulated and Integrated in the training modules of our police force,” he said
Some of the hard skills being used by police include; arresting, hand cuffing, communication, firing, teargas, kicking, use of batons, coercion for information and inappropriate body language.
According to Dr. Musisi, the Integration will not need new employees since, the same police trainers will be implementing it.
