Public opinion of Government security forces, career ambitions and graduate’s willingness to join Government security forces in Uganda.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between public opinion of government security forces, career ambitions and graduate’s willingness to join government security forces in Uganda. The study intended to achieve the following objectives; to examine whether there is a relationship between public opinion of government security forces and career ambitions among graduates. To find out whether career ambitions and graduates’ willingness to join government security forces are significantly related among graduates. To examine whether public opinion of government security forces and graduates’ willingness to join government security forces are significantly related. Table 7 showed that there is a significant relationship between public opinion of armed forces and graduate’s willingness to join government security forces, there is a significant relationship between career ambition and graduate’s willingness to join government security forces, and that there is a significant positive relationship between public opinion of armed forces and career ambition. Findings implied that the generalpublic in Uganda held negative perceptions and impressions of the armed forces especially about human rights abuse and their professionalism which has greatly affected how graduatesperceive the armed forces through expression of low interests in joining Ugandan security agencies despite the unemployment rate in Uganda. In conclusion, the results and recommendations willact as a ‘steppingstone’ for the direction and future of armed forces and policing at large in Uganda and if implemented, could produce better armed forces and citizens relations in the short term and with further research, in the long term. It was recommendedthat Uganda should the establish an Army and Citizens Networking system in the country to bring a working connection between the public and the armed forces.