Bicycles for the police.

17 Mar, 2006

The Mozambican interior ministry has been given 50 special police bicycles as well as safety kits, helmets and spare parts as part of a United States-backed initiative to improve community policing in Maputo. Under the project an opinion poll has already been conducted in selected parts of the capital on the public perception of the police and 150 policemen have received instruction in police-community liaison activities. Following the delivery of the bicycles in early March, 20 policemen will now be trained in bicycle patrols, according to the US embassy in the Mozambican capital. The neighbourhoods earmarked for the training are Costa do Sol and Chamanculo A, northeast and northwest of the city centre respectively. The project is part of the US governments International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Programme (ICITAP), which has involved similar initiatives in Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal.