The Zimbabwe Republic Police is hoping to set up a virtual police “station” on Whatsapp-cyber-space in what will be a futile exercise for spying due to the sophisticated encryption on the network that no government in the world can decipher.
But with a phone contact number for the force, that will help for people to efficiently report cases.
Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri made the revelations at the weekend, of the force hoping to stretch its juridiction into foreign territories; But they will only be able to merely send and receive Whatsapp messages since spying is impossible due to the complicated restrictions.
Making the announcement among other issues, Chihuri told cops saying they are not above the law and must discharge their duties diligently.
“We enforce the law and we are not above the law. When we enforce the law, we must do it within the provisions of the law,” he said. Comm-Gen Chihuri was speaking during the launch of the ZRP Client Service Charter in Harare on Friday.
“Our main objective as an organisation is to improve service delivery in line with the Government’s robust stance accurately captured in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset) blueprint,” he said.The service charter spells out services offered by the ZRP. It also stipulates commitments and standards for service delivery.“In today’s democratic society, police services are no longer a privilege but a legitimate expectation. The people no longer wait for the police to react to crime and behave as aliens to the very foundations that define society.“They demand that the police should be part and parcel of their problems, challenges and day-to-day lives. It is also our firm belief as ZRP that you, our clients, are also not an exception to these fundamental world principles,” he said.
“Meeting people’s various policing needs has been and continues to be the cornerstone of the Zimbabwe Republic Police. It is against this background that the ZRP Client Service Charter sets the bar for us across the whole organisation in providing more and efficient services.”
Comm-Gen Chihuri said the force had put in place user-friendly communication tools like hot-lines, suggestion boxes, WhatsApp and other social media platforms to facilitate the flow of information between the police and the public.
He however did not reveal the Whatsapp numbers to be used for engaging the public.
He said they were soon going to launch a police website for interaction between the police and the public.