A Sniffer dog after catching a suspected thief
MPs have okayed the proposal by Uganda Police Force to spend Shs4.6Bn for the procurement of sniffer dogs to boost crime management and investigations.
The MPs position was unveiled by Rosemary Nyakikongoro, Chairperson on Parliament’s Defence and Internal Affairs Committee while presenting the report on the ministerial policy statement for Police, where she decried the increasing crime rate in Uganda, saying the dogs will go a long way in aiding police to fight criminality.
Nyakikongoro informed Parliament that Police has a funding gap of Shs40.569 billion to facilitate quality investigations, adding that on average, a capital criminal case requires Shs15M for effective investigation, and police register 40,000 capital cases annually.
She said, “Further, acquiring 750 dogs under the Canine unit requires an additional Shs4.658Bn. The Committee recommends providing Shs4.658Bn for the Canine unit and Shs40.569Bn in the FY 2023/24 budget for investigations of crimes.”
It should be recalled that in January 2023, Uganda Police Force first made the request of Shs4.968Bn for the procurement of 750 dogs to expand the Force’s canine unit in order to fight crime in the country, but only Shs310M had been availed in the Police budget, leaving a funding gap of Shs4.658Bn.
When the controversial matter featured in the Budget Committee at the time, Nyakikongoro defended the cost of the dogs arguing that dogs are more costly in terms of feedings than humans and each dog would cost Shs30M.
She said in January, “This budget includes feeding, some of you have dogs, you know how much you spend on dogs, their budget is more than actually the people, it is just like that. I have that experience, the budget of dogs is more expensive than the family members.”
The Police Force intends to acquire a new fleet of patrol vehicles for all districts, troop carriers and Motorcycles at the cost of Shs79.25Bn, yet only Shs59.772Bn has been provided, leaving a funding gap of Shs19.478Bn.
The Committee also recommended for the enhancement of salaries for its officers to match that of the UPDF whose salary is being enhanced at all ranks.
