Ever felt like you are being unfairly treated at any police station, or wondered if your complaint was heard? SEMA is reshaping that. Our partnership with the Uganda Police Force is improving community policing through real-time citizen feedback.
For the last five years, SEMA has actively collaborated with various police stations under the Uganda Police Force, primarily focusing on Gathering real-time citizen feedback at different locations, including Wandegeya Police Station, Central Police Station, Ntinda Police, and Jinja Road Police, among others. The overarching goal has been to tackle issues such as corruption, improve the quality of services provided and establish a stronger feedback loop between citizens and law enforcement.
Despite initial challenges such as red tape bureaucracy and slow uptake of clients’ feedback tools at the stations. Over time, police officers have become more comfortable with SEMA’s initiative, demonstrating support for the project. The impact of SEMA’s efforts is evident in the positive changes observed at various police stations, including reduced waiting times and fewer corruption reports. Kira Road Police Station has demonstrated the largest increase in satisfaction in a year. For many citizens, it is difficult to navigate larger Divisional police stations and to get their problems resolved easily and quickly, which requires individual attention to create strategies for further improvement. The SEMA team had a series of engagements with police officers to address issues raised by the citizens, including waiting times, bribery, unfair treatment and uncleanliness of the environment. Some of these concerns were acted upon by the officers in charge of the station based on their level of influence and available resources. Currently, SEMA is collaborating with four police stations: Ntinda Police, Kira Road Divisional Police, Old Kampala and Wakiso Divisional Police Stations.
The collaboration between SEMA and the Uganda Police Force is not just a local initiative but represents a broader positive transformation in service delivery and citizen-police interactions.
Want to build trust and transparency in your community? Here’s how you can get involved:
Share feedback about your experience at a police station Via the SEMA tools USSD Code : *284*24#, Toll-free line: 0800203062, Use the feedback device and talk to our staff at the police station.
Visit our website (https://talktosema.org/) to learn more about our citizen feedback interventions and performance reports of institutions we have worked with.
Key Words: Community policing, citizen feedback, service delivery, transparency, accountability.
SEMA Trend Report — How can departments within the Uganda Police Force improve their services to clients?
