Keera
Investment year (IY)is aimed at imparting Skills , Knowledge and Character to the student. The IY Programme also gives the students opportunities to do Internships in their field of interests.
As a student of I.Y. 2013, I (Keera) had an opportunity to work at our local Police Station. This was my interest to know how the police at large carries out it’s investigation and how justice is shown.
This was quite a risk to me since I had no idea what the expectation would be. Although there were many people who spoke to me about the undertaking and how it was unwomanly, I was so hungry for knowledge that pursued this challenge .
Some of my worries and challenges were:
I feared that I might mess up, then be taken straight to jail.
I wondered If the officers were friendly.
I feared that my morals might be compromised after some time.
I was not completely aware of how to present myself at work at first. My dressing code and hair style was improved after the first few days of work.
I also had to fight the wrong impression that the police officers had of me. They did not want to associate with me thinking I was a ‘spy’ and would report them!
My Objectives/Expectations:
My objective was to learn how to investigate a crime and how to follow up a case.
I expected the officers at the police station to be smartly dressed, which they were.
I also expected them to be unsocial, but the officers there taught me that the things that differentiates the police from the army is that the police associate a lot with the people. Therefore, I learnt that a good officer has to be a good listener.
Contrary to my expectations, the police showed me that they are working on the sin of corruption which we now clearly term as theft. By the time I was working there, that was the time that the
I.Y. 2013
government of Uganda had not paid the police officers their salary. As I took time to study their way of life, I noticed that although some were unhappy with their conditions, at my local police station the police officers behaved to show that they are moving on from theft to being good stewards by not choosing to demand money from clients.
I would gladly recommend anyone to get an experience from working with the police, because it will make us better citizens of Uganda.
By Keera, New Hope Daughter and Investment Year Student