WINDHOEK- The Namibian Police loses an average of 500 officers per year, translating into N$77 million in money used to train those officers.
Official figures presented to New Era indicate that it costs police N$154 694 to train one police officer for six months.
This figure caters for salary, laundry, meals, training and graduation uniform, weapons and beddings amongst others.
Many such trainees do not stay long in the force, a situation that police chief, Lieutenant General, Sebastian Ndeitunga says results into massive wastage of resources.
To arrest the situation, Ndeitunga said the police are now working on a proposal to tie new graduates to the force for a specific minimum timeframe, before they could be allowed to leave.
Ndeitunga told New Era that the poaching of police officers, especially by the private sector and municipalities, is one of the major reasons why the police force is struggling to increase its numbers.
“Just recently about 20 of our members who completed the specialised traffic training course resigned and joined the City of Windhoek traffic division,” Ndeitunga said.
“But we are working on ways to bind them so that they can work for a certain period after graduating or pay a certain fee if they want to leave the force.”
There is currently a huge backlog in the country’s police force, which stands 7886.
A huge number of that is in the ranks of constables (5 200), sergeant class 1 (1 077), warrant officer class 2(738), warrant officer class 1(580), inspector (240), chief inspector (51).
The high staff turnover of about 500 per year, retirements and resignations are some of the factors limiting the growth of the police force.
Earlier in the year this publication reported that the country’s top law enforcement agencies-City Police and NamPol – are at each other’s throats over safety and administrative operations within the capital city, a situation denied by both agencies’ heads.
Sources claim the sour relationship started after several incidents where NamPol officers resign from Nampol to join City Police, which is said to be paying better salaries.
Both Ndeitunga and City Police’s Chief Abraham Kanime denied the existence of bad blood and maintained that there is a sound working relationship between the two agencies when contacted at the time.