By Allieu Sahid Tunkara
Inspector General of the Sierra Leone Police has said they have plans to establish a training college for police personnel and members of other security agencies.
Speaking at a press conference at Fourah Bay College recently, Francis Allieu Munu said the college would be called International Law Enforcement Academy and it would be limited not only to policing disciplines but “to other professional courses that will attract international students.”
He said the curricula of the academy will be based on a needs assessment basis, and will rely on the services of the University of Sierra Leone.
Munu said they had secured a 2-acre land at Makomp Village in the Bombali district, north of the country, for the academy construction which he said would last for three years.
“The initiative to put up the police academy is borne out of the need to maintain professionalism in the police force as the institution has been undergoing tremendous restructuring,” Munu noted.
The police boss said the project would cut cost as the police was spending “thousands of dollars” on officers studying abroad.
He added: “Over the years, the police force has come under intense criticism, and we are ready to turn around [the] situation as we have learnt from the criticism.”
The Inspector General however did not state a specific date on which the construction would begin. When asked, he said he was at the press conference to only consult with the university authorities to know how they could come in to help realise the project.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone and Principal of Fourah Bay College Professor Ekundayo Thompson, assured the police chief that the university would provide the requisite technical support when called upon to do so. He said the proposed police academy was about giving knowledge in skills and positive attitude within the police force. He further stated that the world was a global knowledge economy and that it was imperative that the police became highly knowledgeable and skilled if they were to deliver on their core function.
“If criminals have become more sophisticated, knowledgeable and skilled, why shouldn’t the police match and surpass their knowledge and skills if law and order must be maintained?” the principal asked rhetorically.
Head of Alumni and International Relations directorate at the University of Sierra Leone, Mrs. Bernadette Cole, urged the Inspector General to consider Media Relations as an integral part of their curricula. She said this would help reduce the tension between the police and media practitioners.
© Politico 03/02/15
