Botswana
| Author | Frederick Roth |
| Pages | 231-237 |
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Official country name: Republic of Botswana
Capital: Gaborone
Geographic description: A landlocked country in south-central Africa, formerly Bechuanaland
Population: 1,640,115 (est. 2005)
Formal policing in Botswana has its origins in the colonial experience. During the late nineteenth century British interest in the Tswana-controlled Kalahari region was intended to establish a buffer state to check Boer expansion and German imperial ambitions in central Africa. In 1885, when Great Britain declared its intention to administer the territory as the Bechuanaland Protectorate, one of the first measures enacted was the introduction of the Bechuanaland Border Police. Composed entirely of Europeans, its principal objective was to secure the frontier areas of the British colonial empire in southern Africa. In addition, it was also expected to perform internal administrative functions such as mediate tribal disputes, dispatch communiqués to and from the chiefs, and enforce native regulations consistent with the British policy of indirect rule. It became increasingly clear, however, that indigenous officers would conduct these latter tasks more efficiently and in 1895 a Protectorate Native Police Force was organized under European command. In 1902 the two forces were merged to create the Bechuanaland Protectorate Police.
After independence in 1966 the Protectorate Police continued in the form of the Botswana Police Force (BPF) that, though now serving the newly formed state, retained the vertical command structure and centralized management of its colonial predecessor. The transfer of police authority to the new republic proceeded smoothly and within a few short years the BPF was composed almost entirely of African officers. A more important structural change occurred in 1977 when the BPF relinquished its military duties and transferred the Police Mobile Unit to the newly created Botswana Defense Force. Even before 1977, however, the police had already begun to shift to those responsibilities typically associated with the police function, such as the detection of crimes and the maintenance of order. In 1996, commensurate with its focus on community policing and the appointment of a new commissioner, the BPF reorganized itself as the Botswana Police Service (BPS). The Office of the President has had administrative oversight of police services in Botswana since independence.
Until 1996 police coverage in Botswana, a country roughly the size of France and
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Belgium combined, was separated into 2 divisions that were subdivided into 13 districts, 6 in a Northern Division and 7 in a Southern Division. Subsequently, a third division (South-Central Division) was created to accommodate the urban growth radiating outward from Gaborone along a pluvial eastern corridor, where most of the population expansion has taken place in recent years. Three districts were drawn from the Southern Division including District #3 (Gaborone), District #13 (Gaborone West, a completely uninhabited area in 1966), and District #12 (Mochudi, a large village about 40 kilometers north of Gaborone) to form the South-Central Division. In addition, the new division also included the district surrounding Serowe (District #2), the traditional residence of the most prominent Tswana chiefs, a district formerly consigned to the Northern Division. Excluding District #2, the Northern Division remained intact. The four remaining districts in the Southern Division were augmented by the establishment of a fifth district (District #14) to serve the Kanye area. Consequently, present-day police operations consist of 3 divisions, 14 police districts, and 75 police stations. District headquarters are located in the largest villages or towns. The sparsely populated western part of the country is bisected by two of the three divisions constituting Districts #6 and #9 (Southern Division) and District #5 (Northern Division). Maun, a frontier town with a rough-and-tumble tradition, is the official headquarters of District #5 and the largest population center in the arid Kalahari region.
Three deputy commissioners, one each for Operations, Support Services, and the Security Intelligence Services, assist the commissioner of police. The eleven senior assistant commissioners are in charge of each of the major branches (e.g., Training, Criminal Investigations Department, Traffic, etc.) along with the three divisional commanders. The deputy directors and deputy commanders all hold the rank of assistant commissioner. From an office at District Headquarters, the districts are commanded by senior superintendents and are assisted in their administrative responsibilities by as many as three superintendents. Most police stations are also commanded by superintendents who, when off duty, are relieved by an assistant superintendent. When the size and magnitude of the attendant duties merit it, typically in the more isolated regions, the commanding officer of a police station may be an inspector. No commanding officer of a police station is lower in rank than an inspector. Inspectors and subinspectors are responsible for the routine day-to-day operations within the precinct forming the lowest stratum of the command structure. Sergeants and constables perform direct services to the public and conventional patrol activities.
The cornerstone of the BPS-community relations program is a system of crime prevention committees that was established during the early 1980s in many of the traditional villages and later extended to urban neighborhoods. Composed of citizen volunteers organized at the division, district, and station levels, this effort at grassroots community participation is supported by the Crime Prevention Coordination Unit, which conducts seminars and workshops. As consultative bodies, these local crime prevention committees have been instrumental in promoting positive relations between the police and the public. As of 2002 there were 619 crime prevention committees throughout the nation.
The government of Botswana acknowledges a dual legal system that grants legitimacy to customary law, customary courts, and a local police separate from the national police system. The origins of the local police are deeply rooted in traditional tribal society. The authority and pronouncements of the chief or the headmen, the chief's representatives in the wards and remote villages, were enforced by the chief's messengers who administered corporal punishment and guaranteed that the will of the communal assembly was respected. When European missionaries arrived, several traditional authorities, most prominently Khama III, the paramount chief of the Bamangwato, converted to Christianity. One of the consequences of this newly acquired faith was a prohibition against the brewing and consumption of traditional beer. So widespread was this practice that Khama III eventually appointed a regular tribal policeman to bring violators of the alcohol ban to justice. Based in Serowe, the traditional seat of Bamangwato authority, each successive chief incrementally augmented the size of the tribal police force. With the passage of time the duties of the tribal police came to include assisting in the collection of tax revenues, collecting court fines, and arresting people found to be in illegal possession of stray cattle. Throughout...
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