Police Reforms in Post Conflict Countries: a Case Study of Rwanda National Police (1994 - 2005)

Abstract

This is a research project on post conflict police reforms targeting Rwanda as a case study. However, four other countries namely; South Africa, Burundi, Sierra Leone and Liberia were looked at to be able to comprehensively study the post conflict police reforms. The Research was motivated by the conceptualization that post conflict countries have unique challenges and require concerted efforts to address these challenges so as to bring back normalcy and to improve the welfare of citizens. Moreover, in such conflict periods the police has become part of the problem or have become irreverent due to the fact that they have failed to fulfill their noble cause of protecting the citizens, there is therefore considerable loss of trust by the population towards the police. Consequently, the study sought to study the post conflict challenges and post conflict police reforms and brought out recommendations. This research project like research of similar categories will add to the existing knowledge in academia and also inform the policy makers and practitioners in the area of police reforms. Post conflict reform efforts are generally directed to all spheres of the government but, the security sector and more specifically the police is a vital area that requires revamping to be able to bring back public confidence and create a favorable environment for development. The research work was mainly informed by systems theory which in essence emphasizes the importance of coordinated approach to government institutions geared towards coordinated and harmonized institutional approach to nation building.