DIG Moigbeh
By Septimus Senessie in Kono
The Deputy Inspector General of police, Richard Moigbe has launched the Handbook of the Local Policing Partnership Board (LPPB) at the Koidu City hall in Kono.
It followed a three-day training on the use of the handbook and the constitution of Sierra Leone for members of the Policing Partnership Board funded by the Access to Security Justice Programme (ASJP).
Moigbe thanked ASJP for "actualising our dreams" through the provision of funds to produce the handbook and organising training for their LPPB members and the police in the 33 Local Command Units across the country "to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness in securing the citizens of the country".
He said, "the LPPB came as a result of the recommendations that were reached during the reform processes of the SLP to assist the police with local policing". He described it as the ‘"vehicles through which the SLP drives on in strengthening local policing in the country" adding that at present, "the country has about 12,600 police officers but this number is not enough to police a country like Sierra Leone with its population of over 6-million...]therefore] we need the community to assist us police the country effectively for sustainable development".
He said LPPB members must support the SLP "to provide a safe and secure environment for Sierra Leoneans, function as a bridge between the SLP and the local communities and provide information on hotspots to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the police". He said the LPPB would also "mediate in minor cases like debt, land disputes, witchcraft and sorcery in collaboration with the local authorities in their communities and may also assist the SLP to screen potential new recruits into the force".
Moigbeh warned the LPPB members against "partisan politics, bribery, concealing of information pertaining to a potential security threat and conniving with criminals by using your positions to drive the country into chaos".
He said they should act against "police officers found doing anything contrary to the protection of the lives and property of the citizens of the country for which they are under oath".
The district coordinator of ASJP in charge of Kono and Kenema districts told Politico that his organisation aimed to strengthen the security sector in the country.
Moi Sellu called on the participants to make good use of the knowledge gained for the benefit of the country.
The Local Unit Commander at the Motema Police Division in the Nimikoro chiefdom, Superintendent Momodu Koroma thanked ASJP for the training and promised to use the knowledge gained as they work in communities.
(C) Politico 25/03/14
