Online Reporter
Freeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
Police have acquired more highway patrol vehicles and motorcycles as part of their efforts to curb road carnage and bring sanity to the country’s roads.
The vehicles and motorcycles which will also be used to monitor criminal activities, were commissioned this Monday in Harare by Police Commissioner-General Stephen Mutamba.
In an interview, national police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said, “The Commissioner-General of Police Stephen Mutamba has released another batch of highway patrol vehicles and motorbikes to enable the country’s roads and highways to be policed.
“The vehicles will assist in monitoring traffic and criminal activities throughout the country.”
In June, the ZRP also acquired more motorcycles, which are being used in traffic enforcement and patrols countrywide.
The all-purpose terrain motorcycles were allocated to police stations for effective management of scene attendance, crime management, general and specific patrols and tackling reckless driving conduct on the roads.
Commissioner Nyathi called on the public to cooperate with law enforcement agents.
He said the batch of motorcycles was for urban centres policing, rural patrol and traffic enforcement throughout the country.
“The all-terrain motorcycles will be allocated to police stations for effective management of scene attendance, crime management, general and specific patrols and tackling reckless driving conduct on the roads,” he said.
In January, the ZRP acquired high-powered boats, motorbikes and additional patrol vehicles in a major boost to law enforcement, emergency response and crime-fighting operations across the country.
The new equipment was strategically deployed to police provinces and stations to strengthen patrols, for rescue missions and enhance rapid-response capabilities, particularly in hard-to-reach areas.
Commissioner-General Mutamba then released several boats for operations along major waterways for police operations, which include rescue activities, water escorts and patrols.
He also commissioned police bikes for scene attendance and patrols in areas with rugged terrain.
The motorbikes were deployed in farming communities, rural areas and central business districts across all provinces, enabling officers to respond quickly to incidents in difficult-to-access locations.
As part of the modernisation drive, the ZRP has commissioned new vehicles for the Police Canine Unit to attend to reports of crime, track suspects, manage public order situations, sniff for drugs and conduct general searches during crowd control activities.
In December, the ZRP also launched a dedicated Special Tactics Troop — a highly trained rapid-response unit modelled on elite police forces such as South Africa’s Special Task Force, Kenya’s Recce Company and the United Kingdom’s Specialist Firearms Command.
The unit, which graduated after intensive training, will respond to high-risk incidents such as armed robberies, kidnappings, murder and smuggling.
In addition, Comm-Gen Mutamba has deployed three more vehicles to the National Highway Patrol Unit.
