| dc.description.abstract | There are cases of unprofessionalism in the Uganda police force (UPF) and if this is not addressed, this is likely to escalate crime forcing more people to use mob justice as well as hamper sustainable development. The general study objective was to establish the nexus between professionalism in police force and sustainable development in Uganda, focussing on Kampala metropolitan area. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. The population of this study comprise of 87 respondents from Kampala Metropolitan area. Data was collected using interviews and questionnaires. Validity and reliability were tested using content validity index and testing using SPSS to establish scores that were above 0.7 for both. IBM SPSS software 22 was used for quantitative analysis while thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. The results revealed that institutional factors, environmental factors and personal factors in that order of rank were key in influencing professionalism. Political interference with police activities was seen as both a cause and effect of gaps in police professionalism. The most common form of unprofessionalism was disrespect of fellow staff and clients being visible at some stations or crime scenes and low morale at work, limited capacity in especially detecting crime, deployment driven by patronage, sentiments, emotions, blood relations; human rights abuse. However, there was continued professionalism by the police forces at parliament. Police was reported to cooperate with local authorities most times; motorists reported police excesses, changing from law enforcement to outright torture. Causes of these challenges included limited patriotism, lack of respect and responsibility amongst officers. The most effective means of enforcing professionalism included; on job training, disciplinary action, use of live monitoring through CCTV cameras, Monday parades and Barazas, benchmarking, community policing, general welfare, inspections by PSU, charging errant officers in courts (disciplinary), use of police SACCOSs, code of conduct, impromptu checks, customer service and enforcement through platoon commanders. More suitable means of promoting professionalism; better technologies and use of systems, improving payments, training in money matters, proper deployment, administrative reforms, more PSU branches, police should be representative of the community they serve, more funding. There is a positive, moderate and significant relationship between police force professionalism and sustainable development. Police professionalism predicted 8.7% of the variance in sustainable development. Professionalism exhibited a Beta score of 0.323. In conclusion, professionalism is largely existent in UPF and the gaps are isolated cases but need urgent fixing. The available means of enforcing professionalism are currently adequate but may not fully address emerging challenges. The policy implication is that with the right people in police, through the right channels of preparation; that is training, retraining, refresher training, promotions, rotations, disciplinary actions, professionalism can be enhanced. The study recommends; targeted training; using CLOS better to connect with society and bridge gaps in between; police officers of all ranks should be empowered with financial intelligence to handle the finances they and be encouraged to invest collectively and avoid dependence on the inadequate pay outs; prioritising recruitment of professionals; government committing to enhancing the budget of the policing upon recruitment of professionals and investing in policing technologies to enhance crime detection and prevention. | en_US |
