Police and civilians partner to combat crime

The Local Police Partnership Board [LPPB] of the Central Police Station on Saturday, February 22 organized a jogging exercise from the Cotton Tree along Siaka Stevens Street to Syke Street, round the Old Railway Line and back to the Central Police Station where discussions were held and speeches were delivered by various stakeholders.

The jogging exercise was prearranged by the Sierra Leone Police Central Division with the slogan, ‘’ Watch yu nayba, watch yu area, behave yu sef.”

LPPB is a local security community structure comprising of the Police and the community people stakeholders that was established for civilians to support and help the Police to ensure a crime free community.

It is clearly understandable that it is not realistically possible for the Police to be everywhere as the number of Police Officers is small as compared to the number of people in the country.

The main functions of the Local Police Partnership Board does not only involve sustaining good working relations between the Police and the community or the dissemination of information on Police policies for implementation but it also develops0 crime reduction strategies, resolves conflicts and minor disputes and strives for respect and dignity for the Police and the civilians.

Expressing thankfulness especially to the civilians that participated in the exercise, the Chairman of the Board, Alhaji Abdul Hassan Kamara, stated that without the support of civilians the Police can never succeed in executing their duties.

He maintained that all the civilians who took part in the jogging exercise have become different people in their communities and they should therefore serve as ambassadors to spread the message of the Board to their various communities.

He admonished the civilians not to regard the Police as bad people but that they are there to protect and serve them.

He noted that the country can only overcome crime through the collaboration between the Police and the community people.

He urged the civilians to note that they are members of Board and that they should therefore love and respect one another.

“As civilians you should always be ready to identify bad Police Officers and report them to the appropriate authorities so that they can be disciplined,” he cautioned.

In her short comment, Mrs. Kumba Lebbie intimated that the Police have made her happy for fully participated in the exercise and urged her colleague officers to keep the flame burning.

The Head of Media in the Sierra Leone Police, Assistant Superintendent of Police Ibrahim Samura maintained that he was very happy that Police and civilians are singing, dancing, jogging, eating and working together, which he said shows that the Police and civilians are friends and not enemies.

He explained that the Police are there to enforce law and stressed that those who break the law or take the law into their hands would be classed as enemies of the state and dealt with according to law.

He expressed their readiness to work with civilians and community people while he advised civilians to always be ready to hand over criminals to the Police so that the society could live in peace.

Delivering his statement, the Support Officer, Mr. Dennis Mustapha Taylor, who initiated the jogging exercise, said he was happy with the large turnout of both Police and civilians in the exercise.

He observed that over the years the relationship between the Police and civilians has been strengthened.

He revealed that the idea for the jogging exercise was conceived by the Local Unit Commander of Central Police Division, Chief Superintendent of Police Bakarr Koroma to push forward activities of the Central Police Division.

He disclosed that they will be organizing an outing at Bureh Beach in March with the aim of bringing the Police and civilians together to continue strengthening their relationship.

He further intimated that they also have plans to organize a football match in the future, boasting that the Central Police Football team is one to reckon with.

In his keynote address, the LUC Chief Superintendent of Police Bakarr Koroma showered praises on all those who that participated in the jogging.

He explained that they have many more activities which they are planning. He noted that the essence of the event was not only for them to get to know each other but also to transfer the message of the cordiality that exists between them and the community people.

He revealed that since he took over the Central Police Station almost two years ago, they have been able to curtail criminal and violent activities in the area, all thanks to the support and cooperation of the community people.

By Abdulai Mento Kamara

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