01 Aug 2024

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi will tomorrow join Botswana Police Service (BPS) members and other Batswana to celebrate and reflect on the positive milestones achieved in the organisation’s 140 years’ history. 

Botswana Police Day is celebrated annually to give recognition to the services rendered by the men and women in uniform and also honour those who have made sacrifices to protect and serve their nation with pride and humility. 

Speaking on the side-lines of intensive preparations for the celebrations, the BPS spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner (ACP) Dipheko Motube, said the BPS had set the day to reflect on their past with pride and celebrate the achievements. 

BPS has made significant strides in recent years to modernise and professionalise its operations with strong focus on community policing and community engagement. 

“At it establishment in 1884, we started off with a paltry 100 men but today we are talking about several thousand officers across different professional fields. We are now looking back with pride in terms of localisation, transport and communications, technological skills and experiences among others,” added  ACP Motube. 

He said they envisioned an organisation that was digitally advanced and they were moving in the right direction as they had managed to digitalise five services namely, livestock permits, public order permits, fire arms permits, finger print clearance and motor vehicle clearance permits. 

Among notable achievements, he noted the recently introduced Adopt-A-Police Station initiative, meant to improve the ambience of police stations for better service delivery. 

He said so far 69 of the 82 police stations had been adopted, which was a positive step in their endeavour to see the initiative succeeding. 

ACP Motube said some notable organisations that evolved from the BPS included the Botswana Defence Force, the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime, the Directorate of Intelligence and Security and the newly established Drug Enforcement Agency. 

Last December, the BPS in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and Security, launched the City Policing initiative aimed at tackling more serious offences that posed a significant threat to public safety. 

BPS also introduced intensive police surveillance through the mounting of high definition cameras in Gaborone and Francistown, with the Safer City project. 

BPS of today has evolved from three forces namely the Bechuanaland Mounted Police of 1884, the 1885 Bechuanaland Border Police and Bechuanaland Protectorate Force of 1902.

With the attainment of Independence in 1966, the name changed to the Botswana Police Force until the organisation was rebranded the Botswana Police Service in 1997. 

It has grown from two divisions (North and South), to five and the successful introduction of the forensic sciences division and cybercrime branches. 

In 2009 the BPS introduced the air support branch to boost aerial patrol operations especially in inaccessible terrains.

In 2011 the organisation introduced 60 days of action on crime and road safety campaign in an effort to attempt to reduce crime and improve road safety during the festive period each year. 

Another initiative is the famed KgomoKhumo operation, which was delivered in 2018 and made positive strides. 

The sting anti-livestock theft operation has led to numerous arrests with many cases still before many courts countrywide. 

Also noteworthy is the specialised dog unit dubbed the K9 section, a fully-fledged regiment comprising a variety of sniffer dogs. 

The unit is managed by the special support group , the BPS’ paramilitary arm responsible for among others giving support to stations and providing anti-poaching services. 

According to records, in 1885 Lieutenant Colonel Fredrick Carrington was appointed the first Commissioner of the then border police. 

In 1971 Simon Hirschfield was appointed the first Motswana Police Commissioner deputised by the late Lt Gen. Mompati Merafhe. 

Hirschfield retired in 1995 after serving 24 years.

Other officers who served as commissioners are Norman Moleboge (1995-2004), Edwin Batshu (2004-2007), Thebeyame Tsimako (2007-2012), Keabetswe Makgope (2012-2022) and the incumbent Dinah Marathe. 

The first batch of eight women was recruited into the police force in 1971.

The 2009 merger of BPS and Botswana Local Police was another milestone that gave birth to an integrated police service.

In 1997 the organisation rebranded, which was seen as a major transformation embracing the new vision, mission, values and corporate goals. Ends