The physical health and fitness of Police Officers are of utmost importance in the workplace, as they help them effectively and efficiently meet their customers’ expectations.
The observation was made by the Commissioner of Police, Ms Dinah Marathe when addressing Police Officers from No.8 Policing District (Rakops, Letlhakane and Orapa) yesterday (29/05/2024) in Orapa during her country-wide familiarisation tour of Police Establishments.
She said the Police work, by its nature, dictates that the exigency of service may arise at any given time, where the customers depend on the endurance, strength and agility of responding Officers, hence the need for them to be equal to the task.
Therefore, she urged Police Officers to engage in regular physical activity and exercise to improve their quality of life and increase their emotional and intellectual functioning so that they can better help customers. She said regular exercise may help to curtail negative thoughts or distractions from daily worries that come with life experiences.
Commissioner Marathe noted that Police Officers perform essential public functions, requiring them to be on the front line and, at times, undergo harrowing calls in the line of duty. Therefore, she encouraged them to seek counselling from Social Workers, Psychologists, Churches, and online services, to mention a few. This, she said, would help them perform at an adequate level of expectations.
The Commissioner expressed her wish to see Police Officers who are confident and agile when patrolling the streets and prepared to deliver services to the customers that are consistent with International Policing Standards across all Police Stations and Police Posts. She further appealed to them to impress their customers in how they do things, aligning themselves to the Presidential Reset Agenda.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Marathe lamented corruption as an evil dispensation that has no place in the BPS, as it could potentially destroy the Organisation’s reputation locally and internationally. She said that, as an Organisation, the BPS has done exceptionally well over the years in regional, continental, and world rankings in terms of the capacity and effectiveness of police and security providers.
For their part, Police Officers overwhelmingly pledged their unwavering support to the Commissioner and promised to individually and collectively give the nation of Botswana the peace and security it deserves. They further pledged that the πππππ ππ πππ ππππππππ would lead them at all times.
