A societal problem that demands societal solution
Sierra Leone is still trying to overcome the challenges left behind by a decade long civil war. Since an end to our civil war in 2002, governments – present or past have done their little efforts, aimed at tackling the causes of that civil war. (Photo: John Pa Baimba Sesay, IA, Beijing, China)
Legacies of our leaders:
For instance, ex-President Tejan Kabba(h) worked towards the creation of democratic state institutions that would help in the day to day running of the country. The National Revenue Authority (NRA), the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), the Independent Media Commission (IMC), the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (Nassit), etc., were among many institutions Kabba(h) left. I may have my issues with the Kabba (h) government in terms of his failure to have effectively used public communication in his governance, or his many unfulfilled promises, but he was able to take the lead in bringing about institutional reforms in post conflict Sierra Leone.
President Ernest Bai Koroma came into power in 2007. Since then he has been working assiduously towards sustaining the peace we achieved years back as well as moving the country ahead in the area of infrastructural development. There have been phenomenal transformations in present day Sierra Leone in the areas of road network, free health care delivery, fight against corruption, energy and power provision amongst others areas. Within a period of four years, President Ernest Bai Koroma has achieved a lot. I wonder how it would look like after 10 years of a Koroma presidency in Sierra Leone, in terms of development, given the pace of development ongoing at the moment. That does not mean, we have arrived where we are heading for, but the signs are gleaming, that with this pace of socio-economic and infrastructural development, we will make succeed in our desire for a better Sierra Leone.
Our collective efforts:
But what about the collective achievements we have got as a people? This is something we have often forgotten about, or ignored, or at least, we often tend to give the credit to a given a government. Our peace, our efforts and our commitment-these, we need not down play. Indeed, the peace process was spearheaded by a given government but it was as a result of the preparedness on the part of each and every Sierra Leone that eventually led us to give an end to that decade long sad history of ours.
I am however perturbed, that the gains we have been making, since the end to our civil war, appear to be in the brink. And we should come together not to allow this trend to continue. Our peace will be sanctioned by the efforts we put together, towards sustaining it, and in this direction, we should be ready to work as a people, give our support where nit is needed. Our youths, our police officers, are key to the sustenance of our peace and security. Recent developments in Sierra Lone are disturbing and they are not in the interest of our peace and even not in the interest of the development efforts that President Koroma has embarked upon since 2002. The police, just as the citizens are partners in develo0oplemnet, which makes it a compelling factor for us to collaborate. The recent deaths of two youths in Wellington were an unfortunate incident indeed and I, as Sierra Leonean totally regret such happening.
The timely intervention of the President helped in salvaging the apparent deteriorating situation in Wellington. There was a complete show of leadership here, by President Koroma; his presence at the funeral of the two young men was an indication of his love and desire to ensure the security of his people. I particularly would want to commend the President for that singular action of being part, and feeling with the bereaved family. This is statesmanship in its highest level. A smart Leader indeed! But there are issues we need to look at here:
Problems and solutions:
That said, a critical examination of the police-public relations in Sierra Leone is needed and in this vain, let me attempt to bring out factors I see as being responsible for this poor police-public working relationship. I wish to state them as follow:
- Police and their challenges Vs. public expectations
- Civil mistrust for our police officers
- Total disregard for law and order
- Seeming ineffective Local Policing Partnership Boards
Challenges facing the force vs. people’s expectations:
The public’s expectation from the police is great. But again, expectations should be managed with realities. This is a major problem in fostering a positive relationship between the public and the police force. Also, the police force itself has a number of challenges. Again, we may wish to also even look at the training process normally done, when people opt to enter into the police force. Is the training period at Samu or Hasting commensurate to present day reality and public expectation? Have we been recruiting the right people? Have we often conducted a clear and critical assessment of those who normally apply to enter the police force from the viewpoint of their past record? And are they getting the required training? The societal problems are today so plenty that, when we look out for solutions, we even end up with more challenges. And because of these unanswered question above, we then will see mistrust and lack of confidence, no sooner they leave the training camps since they-police-too have so much expectations in their minds after graduation.
Civil mistrust for our police officers:
Civil mistrust and lack of public confidence in the police force are key here. This may be as a result of, also public perception about the police. We have got a fixed mindset in so far as police operations could go in Sierra Leone. From our poda poda drivers, to our okada rivers, this is all just the same. But again, are the police themselves responsible for the apparent negative public perception about them? This is debatable. But take a case study here- a commercial driver is asked for his driving license along Fourah Bay Road, which is good. But is this the same they do to private drivers? The laws are made for all, but once you behind to exercise too much of discretionary powers, it become a problem. Also, there has also been the complaint of police going for money, more than their work. I may not accept or deny this, but what I know is, you see a commercial driver, making a U-turn around Cottage Hospital when that should not happen. And when arrested, it is the very public- passengers that first will criticize the arresting officer. So, this brings us to the attitude problem. Our attitudes should shape our perceptions, which in turn should help improve on our relationship with the police. This should be addressed as soon as possible.
Total disregard for law and order:
The police force is expected to maintain the internal security of a given state. But we have seen, out of anger and frustration, people taking the law in their hands. If someone is killed, the law requires us to make a report to the police. But when once we begin to turn our anger on the law enforcing body, it then becomes a threat to national security. Again Information dissemination in security issues is vital. When a faulty message is transmitted, it creates room for chaos and instability. This was the case in the Bumbuna fracas. The use of that radio station in Bumbuna by a said Reverend was also believed to have helped adversely.
Seeming ineffective Local Policing Partnerships:
Partnership Boards were introduced across the country, through the local policing policy, introduced by the police. But what has been the impact of these boards? To what extent have they contributed? Can we now take a review of the leadership in some of these partnership boards across the country? Let me take Kissy as a case study, the Head of the Policing Partnership Board was proving to be effective, but can we now take a look at whether it is right to be actively involved in party politics, and at the same time carrying the Leadership of the Local Policing Partnership Board? . If you want to, for instance, enter into parliament through a political party, as in Kissy; is it not advisable to relinquish the leadership of the partnership Board? You cannot be a politician and in charge of a security Board in a locality. If a politician, not having the political beliefs or ideologies of the ruling party is heading a Local Policing Partnership Board, what do we expect in the real sense of party politics? (My reference to Kissy has to do with my apparent connection to that part of Freetown, since I have lived most of my being in Freetown, in Kissy.)
Finding solutions:
But there must be a way forward here that I have attempted to group as follows:
- Police to improve on their public relations
- Review of Local Policing Partnership Boards
- Review of vigilante groups where necessary
Police to improve on their public relations:
The relationship between the public and the police force should be reviewed and in the process efforts should be embarked upon to try and regain the seeming drop in public confidence and mistrust among the public for police officers. This can be done by:
a) A change of attitude among us as a people and especially among our security brothers- by constant radio discussion programmes, regular meetings with stakeholders like drivers, executive for bike riders, community leaders and opinion leaders and also religious leaders in our communities;
b) By working in close partnership with media practitioners, especially broadcast media-i.e., radio and television, use of community barray meetings, production of radio jingles on message of peace, national cohesion may be of help also etc
By the police constantly engaging stakeholders – communities, youth leaders, and opinion leaders in these communities, they will succeed in making people understand their (police) traditional duty of maintaining law and order and also in letting the public know what is expected from them (public). Communication is relevant here, especially public communication.
Review of Local Policing Partnership Boards:
Let us review the activities of the Local Policing Partnership Boards, by:
a) Looking at what impact they have made, if any;
b) Looking at whether they are still performing in line with what is expected from them
c) Determining whether those who are now actively involved in politics should still be made to keep heading such bodies;
This review will surely even help in determining public perception about the existence of such a in our security make-up as a country.
Review of vigilante groups where necessary:
The idea of having vigilante groups to help ensure the security of a given community may be a good one, but given present happenings and also in an effort to improve on our trust, perception and confidence on police officers, we may want to see how this trend of vigilante groups could be reviewed. Leaving our national security in the hands of our security sector may be one of several ways of improving on public confidence and trust for our security sector. When our war came to an end in 2002, there was, prior to that, a Disarmament, Demobilization and Rehabilitation exercise that was done across the country. The question is to what extent we can say the exercise was a success, from an impact assessment standpoint?
Just few days ago, I ran a telephone interview with the Police Chief in Sierra Leone, Francis Munu and he was quick to highlight, that the police “have been criticized for use of weapons but we know there has been an increase in armed robbery and we need to curtail that… the public has most often not been fair with their needs…” and promised to make amends where necessary but to “also try to deliver on our agenda” and again called on the general public “to support us so as to be able to make progress in our work.” This then tells me, state security should not be seen as the responsibility of government alone. It involves the collective effort of society, political parties inclusive.
Not just a government issue:
Passing relevant information to police officers, in terms of suspecting security threats around you community is as necessary and helpful. Take for instance here again; you don’t expect government to come knock on your door, just to remind you that the music you are playing in your sitting room is to the discomfort of your neighbor. These are basic societal norms we should start to inculcate into our daily dealings. Most of the problems we face today are man-made, they are societal problems and one way of addressing them is by looking for societal solutions to them.
The police should come to terms with present day societal needs and expectation and do all they could to meet them. The society on the other hand, should manage its expectation in line with present day realities.
This is my take as a Sierra Leonean; may the souls of those departed brothers rest in peace. Thank you.
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