Police agency wants officers given allowances, not houses

The government should give police officers a housing allowance, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has recommended.

In a study released last week, IPOA says giving police officers a housing allowance would ensure they live under proper housing conditions and thus boost their morale. The study revealed that 63,000 out of 80,000 serving police officers live in deplorable houses.

The study, however, recommended that specialised paramilitary police units like the General Service, Anti-Stock Theft, Rapid Deployment and Rural Border Patrol units should be exempted from a house allowance “for them to be deployed with ease”.