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                Cattle Raid Police Unit Graduates in South Sudan

   by Manyang David Mayar

   A squad of 29 specialist police officers, known as the Livestock Patrol
   Unit (LPU), graduated Thursday in the capital of Jonglei state  after
   two months of training in how to respond to cattle raids.
   This was the second graduating class since the program was set up in
   2012 with funding from the U.S. State Department and the United Nations
   Development Program (UNDP), bringing the total number of trained
   officers in the LPU to 71.
   "Today's graduates join the 46 officers who graduated in December
   2012," said UNDP Deputy Director Amanda Serumaga.
   "This LPU was established to address issues of the people of Jonglei
   State. Already the LPU has been working to reduce violence in the
   community and we hope you  will the lead the way for future LPUs, not
   just in Jonglei, but across South Sudan," she said.
   Residents in the areas where the LPU has deployed have said they have
   successfully interceded after cattle raids and returned the stolen
   livestock to their owners.
   Todd David Robinson, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
   International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, said the LPUs will
   be most effective if they have the trust of the people they serve.
   "Because they are ethnically and geographically diverse and they come
   from the community, they will hopefully... earn the trust of the people
   and by doing so, help people live better lives," he said.
   Gai Manyang, the state deputy police commissioner, said Jonglei state
   needs more, better funded and equipped LPUs if the force is to be
   effective.
   "They are competent but they are small in number," Manyang said.
   "They have a lot of challenges like mobility and communication. This is
   a challenge. The area is very vast, poor roads and all these things".
   State government officials have called on donor agencies to give more
   support to the LPU program to try to beat rampant cattle rustling in
   the state.
   In January this year, more than 100 people, mainly women and children,
   were killed in Jonglei in one of the most deadly cattle raids in South
   Sudan in years.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/cattle-raid-police-unit-graduates-south-sudan/1644577.html