A marriage made in heaven? Not really

In Uganda there was a drive to link the police service with our ever present Boda Boda cyclists. The intent is simple enough...on the surface but is sure to present some challenges in the future. 

The temptation to use the cyclists as an extension of the service or to assist in community policing is noble but there is still a massive challenge of registration and organization. 

It is impossible to expect all your Boda Boda cyclists to rally behind the ruling party or to devote all their energies towards the opposition. My suggestion though, similar to what others have stated is to harness their numbers in the form of an association or group whose needs can then be represented towards one goal. 

The Iranians and the Burmese are some examples of countries that have made use of the cyclists as an extension of their intelligence services but the idea springs a lot more from convenience and speed as opposed to experience. 

It is likely that our countries will continue to struggle and debate the ideas behind intelligence gathering around numbers (quantity) and substance (quality). But there is likely to be a fallout at least in these parts in regards to mass. In a sense, your work is likely to be ruined because of the amount of information you have to process so that the real valuable stuff ends up under the pile of the really unimportant stuff. 

In addition to this, given the tendency to exercise force for which our boys on the bikes are know (mini skirts as a case in point). You are bound to find a sizable amount of abuse in the area of enforcement.