THE Zambia Police Service has never fared highly on the corruption index as far as the public is concerned.
Instead, it has always been looked upon with disdain that nothing good can ever come out of the law enforcement wing.
But it is not the institution that is corrupt, it is some of the few bad eggs who have tended to make the public look at the service with skepticism.
But we are elated that the Police Service itself is taking stock of its negative perception by the public and is tackling the corruption indictment boldly.
It is in this vein that we support the integrity committee training in the service at Lilayi Police College yesterday.
The integrity committee has its role cut out as Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja said, that it should help curb corruption among officers in his opening remarks.
Mr Kanganja said the integrity committee’s role was to shoulder the responsibility of spearheading and facilitating the process of preventing corruption and other unethical conduct as well as promoting integrity in the institution.
He said corruption, malpractice and maladministration should be curtailed as they were detrimental to the social and economic growth of the nation.
The men and women in uniform must realise that society looks up to them to be role models in society who should not fall prey to corrupt tendencies.
Sadly however, many have failed to pass this integrity test in the eyes of the public. This has been more evident in the traffic division of the police.
Money exchanged hands often openly at road blocks where erring motorists often are asked to pay token fines on the spot as opposed to paying at the police stations where they could be issued with proper receipts.
The shameless way in which police officers acted prompted the Service to introduce measures among which was to cut down on the number of road blocks or checkpoints on some roads.
The Police Service has a critical role to play in the fight against corruption and it should ensure this by having a zero-tolerance towards graft, and this would boost people’s confidence in the governance system of the country.
It must interpret the government’s zero-tolerance against corruption by ensuring that none of its officers are found wanting by the public.
It must not only promote goodwill with the public but must also work with other institutions like the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to fight corruption.
Mr Kanganja is right that fighting corruption should not only be left to the ACC alone, but everyone should take an active role to ensure that the vice was eradicated completely.
As he explained, the ACC could not be everywhere and therefore everyone should be doing the correct and right thing at all times.
The police are everywhere and should be the eyes and ears of the ACC.
The bottom line though is that the nation wants a Police Service it can be proud of and the men and women in uniform have that daunting task of living up to people’s expectations.
