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Dr Masimba Mavaza
It is true that the core mission of the police is to control crime. No one disputes this.

Indeed, professional crime fighting enjoys wide public support as the basic strategy of policing, precisely because it embodies a deep commitment to this objective.

The Zimbabwean police were heroic this year. Every right thinking Zimbabwean would like to thank them all for literally risking their lives for each and every Zimbabwean.

Throughout the year 2021, some brave police officers lost their lives in defence of peace. My heart goes out to them and their families.

I thank Police Commissioner General Godwin Matanga and all of his police officers, men and women who each day get up in the morning, put on their uniforms, and come to their stations.

They mingle with the people all to protect you and protect the whole nation. We will never be able to repay them by any words for what they sacrificed and risked against the rogue people who are robbing and killing others for money.

But the good news is that Comm-Gen Matanga and his team have tracked many of these robbers within days and some within hours and have arrested them.

There is no doubt that the year 2021 was a very challenging for the police.

The police measurement that most consistently reduces crime is the rate of arrests. When arrests of burglars and robbers increased, the number of burglaries fell.

During 2021, especially towards the December holidays, crime rates in Zimbabwe rose dramatically. But the police stood up and were counted against crime.

Many attribute the reduction of crime to specific “get-tough” policies carried out by Comm-Gen Matanga.

Probably the police must also introduce an aggressive policing of lower-level crimes, a policy which will nab the crime from its roots.
The police have shown the robbers that their time is up.

Zimbabweans as they leave 2021 behind should pay tribute to the police officers who have given their lives to protect our communities.
Every minute of every day, police officers around the country work to protect us. They catch criminals, break down their networks, and ensure justice is served against those people who don’t respect the importance of law and order.

Yet it comes at a heavy price.

Every year, hundreds of police officers in our country are injured, and some die, paying the ultimate price in the service of justice.
Protecting communities from crime is a unifying force across provinces.

In judging the value of alternative police strategies in controlling crime, however, one should not be misled by rhetoric or mere expressed commitment to the goal; one must keep one’s eye on demonstrated effectiveness in achieving the goal.

Nothing says more about our outstanding police officers than the everyday acts of heroism that we witnessed in swift arrests of armed robbers in the past three weeks.

The officers dealing with the arrests of the robbers deserve the Police Bravery Awards.

The quick arrest of robbers who killed a man in Hatfield and those who killed a child in Macheke shows the police’s courage and quick-thinking in the face of enormous danger.

Not many of us get up knowing whether someone will come at us with a weapon or not, or in that day they will have to try and save someone’s life.

But that’s what our police officers face every day as they get up and do their job. And they do so to serve and protect the public – and so as the year comes to an end it is our turn to say thank you.

Today we know that policing isn’t getting any easier.

“Valor” is a word we don’t commonly hear. People can show courage and bravery confronting many different challenges in life. But “valor” connotes willingly putting oneself in mortal danger to protect others.

We humans have a powerful instinct to flee from peril.

It takes a special kind of courage, a deep sense of duty, and extraordinary character to overcome these impulses and – for the sake of others – to run towards the danger.

We thank God that, on that we have our police to wake up in the morning not knowing whether they will see their families again or not.

As we honour the valor of these officers, we must recognize that we cannot take law enforcement for granted.

We are grateful not just for the courage of the officers, but also of their families. We salute those families today. They encounter long days and restless nights. Still, they endure them for all of us.

Our very ability to live normal lives – to go to school, to go to work, and to pursue aspirations without fear – is only because of the officers’ sacrifice.

The brave actions of the ZRP should awaken in all of us a new dedication to service and selflessness on behalf of our communities.

In his book “Common Sense”, author Thomas Paine wrote that “…the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too lightly.”

While Paine’s words were offered in the context of the sacrifices associated with the Revolutionary War, his meaning, of course, was that we value things in life more significantly if we have worked to achieve them and that if recognition comes too easily, we do not appreciate it as we would have if we had worked for it.

What we say to our officers is merely a token of the collective enthusiasm for the dedicated self-sacrifice and desire they have shown to make their country and our nation an ideal place in which to live and work – simply a better place.

We must never view this recognition too cheaply.

From routine duties to anti-terrorist operations, police officers take risks every day to protect the public. They fall victim to indiscriminate as well as targeted attacks.

The year 2021 saw our police officers being shot at by thieves. We have seen some being knocked down and killed by a stolen pick-up truck or unlicensed kombi driver.

They have courageously arrested subjects wanted for a shooting or murder or robbery.

As we respond to changes in the security landscape and societal norms, police face new challenges such as the global COVID-19 pandemic.

This has added an additional layer of risk to their everyday work as the close-contact nature of their role brings them into contact with the virus.

Once again, police officers are risking their lives and paying the ultimate price to keep our families, homes and communities safe.

As we come to the end of the year, the police face an incredible pressure from gun crime and because it’s not just about policing, it’s actually about the whole of society, we all need to work together to deal with gun crime.

The arrests of these robbers demonstrate the true meaning of public service. This is the reason why in this country we have the finest police officers in the world.

President Mnangagwa has implored the police to tackle the armed robberies and the past few weeks have shown that the police have what it takes to protect us.

We, therefore, pray that our magistrates and judges do not make the work of the police difficult by giving these robbers bail.
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