‘Welfare officers crucial in police’

Wife to Inspector General of Police Jacqueline Kainja has said that police officers under welfare branch are crucial in boosting effectiveness and efficiency of police work.

Speaking on Monday in Lilongwe when she opened a 14-day welfare officers’ training course, Kainja said welfare officers are a key aspect in the Malawi Police Service.

“These people are very important as they address various issues facing both police officers and their spouses. That’s why we need to equip them with necessary skills such as counselling and guidance and conflict resolution which they will impart at their police stations, sub-stations, posts and units,” said Kainja, who is also a Deputy Commissioner of Police.

She, however, disclosed that it has taken so long to train welfare officers.

“This training comes after 10 years since we last trained the last batch in Zomba and since then, we’ve been noticing a knowledge gap which sometimes compromises service delivery,” she said.

One of the participants, sub-inspector Lameck Chibuli of Nkhotakota Police Station, said the training was timely.

“We used to work without technical knowledge since most of us were just picked from the general duties branch. Now, we’ll deliver to our best since welfare branch is the backbone of the police,” he said.

The police welfare branch was introduced in 1972 by the then Inspector General Mark J. Kamwana following an outcry by police officers when their colleagues died.

At the time, when a police officer died, he was buried at his duty station other than at his home village due to mobility challenges.