The Situation Overall

Combined, 218,715 cases of crime were reported to the Uganda Police Force during the year 2024; a 4.1 percent decrease in comparison to the number of cases reported to Police during the previous year.

Overall, of the 220,594 victims of crime reported to Police in 2024, the majority, 63.8 percent (140,683) of the victims were boys and men; while 36.2 percent (79,911) of the victims were girls and women.

81,750 cases were taken to court

Less than half of the cases reported to Police in 2024, only 37.4 percent, were fully investigated by Police, presented to the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), were sanction by the ODPP and were taken to Court.

• 53.3 percent (43,579), the majority of all cases that were taken to Court, are still pending determination by a competent Court.
• 32.2 percent (26,328) of all cases taken to Court secured convictions from Court.
• 12.6 percent (10,333) of all cases taken to Court were dismissed by Court.
• 1.8 percent (1,510) of all cases taken to Court secured an acquittal from Court.

90,663 cases still under inquiry

The majority, 41.5 percent, of all cases reported to the Police in 2024 remained still under inquiry and were still being investigated by Police at the end of the year.

46,302 cases not proceeded

A significant number of cases reported to the Police, 21.2 percent of them, were not proceeded and the files were closed.

The reasons as to why the cases were not proceeded are not clearly stated in detail in the Crime Report.

However, victim testimonies, shared in confidence with CPAR Uganda, reveal that among major reasons as to why so, is because the files could have been mismanaged by individual police officers, deliberately and otherwise.

Victim testimonies reveal instances in which individual Investigating Officers (IOs), police officers, assigned to investigate did not satisfactorily do so.

• Reportedly, there are instances when IOs would have investigated, if they were facilitated. In some cases, genuinely so; and in others it was code for ‘bribe me.’
• Victim testimonies in some cases indicate suspicion that IOs were compromised by the criminal and deliberately did not objectively investigate. Allegedly, IOs were paid not to adhere to accepted professional investigative standards. Including, authoring Police reports that obfuscate facts and fail to hold up as legal proof.

Role of ODPP

Whether case files are closed and not proceeded or are sanctioned and taken to court is significantly dependent on the ODPP.

Indeed, victim testimonies indicate instances where, to the best of their knowledge, cases were well investigated by Police IOs, but when those case files were presented to the ODPP they were not proceeded.

Suspicion is raised that Police bosses, in particular those working under the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (CID), who interact with the ODPP, may have in some cases connived with criminals to ensure that cases were not proceeded.

Victim testimonies reveal connivance can be done in either of two ways:

• The concerned CID Police Officer engaged in misconduct, deliberately removed key pieces of evidence from the case file and presented an incomplete file to the ODPP. On the basis of an incomplete file, the ODPP rendered the decision not to sanction.

• Alternatively, there are allegations that some judicial officers working at the ODPP may connive with Police or with the criminal or both to make the case go away, by tinkering with the case file, so as not to sanction the case to proceed to Court.

For deeper insights into how individuals within the ODPP may tinker with case files:

Read “Charges against State Attorney.”

Read “Senior State Attorney charged with abuse of office.”

The Annual Crime Report 2024 was officially launched on Wednesday, 19th February 2024, with pomp and ceremony, at Police Headquarters, Naguru. For more on the launch ceremony:

Read “Uganda Sees 4.1% Drop in Crime Rates, Reveals Annual Crime Report 2024.”

The Annual Crime Report is now published on the Police website and a PDF is available to download free.

Click here to download the Annual Crime Report 2024