Police officers in Rwanda now enrol on a four-year honours degree in professional policing, delivered by the Kigali Institute of Education (KIE) with the Rwandan National Police.
The course evolved through links with the University of Teesside’s police training and staff here will also act as external examiners on the Rwandan degree.
The proposal to transform Rwandan police training began with discussions between Professor Roger Sapsford from the University of Rwanda and Cyprian Gatete, head of training for the Rwandan national police. Professor Sapsford previously lectured in psychology at the University. He told the Rwandan head of training about the University’s two foundation degrees in policing with Cleveland and West Mercia forces.
Following this a joint bid was devised by Steve Taylor, then a Teesside sociology lecturer, together with the University of Rwanda and KIE. This project, entitled the England/Africa partnership in Higher Education, built towards degree-level police training in Rwanda.
Emma Martin and Pauline Ramshaw, both of Teesside, will be external examiners on the degree, which was recently launched in a huge state event. Emma said: ‘The Rwandan degree is a big change in the way the police training and education is delivered. It’s what they need for the 21st century’.
Pauline added: ‘The new degree will provide the opportunity for police officers to acquire a wider insight into social and political issues and the interpersonal dynamics of communities within a country that has emerged only comparatively recently from a period of deadly intergroup conflict. Rwanda is now rebuilding its economy and civil society’.