Crude Police Investigation!
Much has been said and done about corruption in the Judiciary. In its recommendations, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report, which examined the causes of the ten years brutal rebel war waged by the defunct Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels singled out corruption in the judicial system as a fundamental cause of the war.
Most times when accusing fingers are pointed at the judiciary for being corrupt, little is mentioned about the role of the police in setting the solid foundation for such malfeasance. Instead, the police have mostly been blamed for being unprofessional in the context of applying in-commensurate use of force to quell protests.
Underneath this common charge against the police is the secret strangulation and manipulation of the investigative process, which forms the basis of the litigation stage. Aggrieved members of the public in their quest for justice have most times been deprived and rebutted by desperate and money-hungry and demanding police officers, who have conveniently turned their envious profession into a flourishing trade of public exploitation with impunity.
Openly, so-called Investigating Officers (IOs) and their superiors would shamelessly make unreasonable requests of money from aggrieved members of the public in quest of their (police) services, before attending to their clients.
Some of them even have the guts to say that they had not eaten since morning and complaining members of the public will be obliged to provide food for them before action is taken on their complaint.
This attitude and crude behavior of the police MUST stop! Notwithstanding the hardship and constraints affecting effective police service delivery, police officers should see themselves as a beacon of hope for the poor masses. The Police Management should step up to ensure that the working environment of the rank and file is properly fixed to restore integrity and public trust in the police.
We are of the strong view and conviction that corruption in the judiciary is fermented at the stage of police investigation. We urge the authorities to also improve on the caliber and status of the crop of cop put in charge of the investigative process.
Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!
© 2021, https:. All rights reserved.
