15 Dec 2025

The enlistment of special constables into the regular police establishment marks a significant milestone that will enhance police visibility, boost officer morale and build a resilient and reputable police service committed to serving the nation with diligence and enthusiasm.

President Advocate Duma Boko made these remarks at the pass-out parade of 873 graduate recruits of the Botswana Police Service (BPS) held at the Police College near Otse on Friday. Of the graduates, 845 are former special constables.

“Their elevation to the status of full-time police officers is not a mere manpower expansion effort, it is a milestone that is in alignment with government’s pathway to a new Botswana; a Botswana defined by peace, security and stability,” said President Boko.

He explained that the engagement of special constables was introduced in September 2004 as a temporary measure to augment police manpower and enhance visibility as a key crime-prevention strategy.

Over the years, he noted, government prioritised the incremental enlistment of special constables who met standard employment requirements, resulting in the absorption of some into the regular police service.

“It has now become necessary to discontinue the special constable programme altogether, while retaining the accumulated expertise. As such, all serving special constables have now been absorbed into the regular police establishment,” he said.

President Boko noted that the absorption of the graduates came at a pivotal moment in the BPS’s transformative journey, which focused on re-engineering and modernising the service to make it more effective, dynamic, innovative and technology-driven, while strengthening partnerships and collaboration.

He highlighted notable initiatives such as the introduction of air support services, cyber forensics, safer city solutions, drone technology, the gender and child protection branch, the police-public partnership directorate and the human rights desk.

Emphasising that the fight against crime could not be won by police alone, President Boko urged the graduates to embrace community-oriented policing as the cornerstone of effective law enforcement.

He said they should build trust and cultivate the spirit of police-community cooperation with the people they served in order to make crime management effective and impactful.

“Our country is currently wrestling with new and emerging public security threats and mounting social challenges. The scourge of illicit drugs and substance abuse is threatening to tear families and communities apart. It is an existential threat that we must fight and win,” he said.

He also described gender-based violence (GBV) as a dark stain on the nation’s collective conscience and a betrayal of the national ethos of Botho, posing a grave threat to the moral fabric and social stability of society.

“In 2024 alone, the BPS recorded 14 020 GBV cases, including 4 468 cases involving children. As you graduate today, go out not to perpetuate the problem, but to contribute meaningfully to finding solutions. You are not just enforcers of the law; you are the first line of defence for the vulnerable, the hope for every victim and the living embodiment of justice, peace and security,” he said. ENDS