The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba Alkali, on Wednesday, opened a two-day workshop for stakeholders of Community Policing in South-East geo-political zone, with a call on residents to have confidence in police and report criminal activities around them.
At the event held at the Police Detective College, Enugu, IGP Alkali, who was represented by the DIG in charge of Zone 13, John Ogbonnaya Amadi, said that the workshop was aimed at letting participants know their roles in Community Policing.
He disclosed that Community Policing had been given a legal framework. It now has a legal backing, unlike before they were interacting informally with the people.
Community Policing, he said, was everybody’s business, hence the need for every citizen of Nigeria to participate in policing our environment.
He said that Community Policing was not new in Nigeria. It started in 2004 and has been producing good results of ensuring adequate policing, adding that the concept has brought policing closer to the people.
Alkali disclosed that Community Policing has made policing less cost effective because since everybody is involved in policing, government would not have to spend so much on policing.
“The expected outcome of the workshop for stakeholders of Community Policing is how best to go about enforcing Community Policing,” he said.
The IGP representative, DIG Amadi, appealed to members of the public to partner with the police, trust them and report criminal activities around them. He said any police officer found in criminal activities would be punished.
On payment of police constabularies, he said they were volunteers, trained to complement the police.
He explained that they were people who have something doing but volunteered to participate in community policing and as such are not expected to be paid salaries.
“When they were recruited, they were told that they are volunteers. It is for people who are self-employed, so they are not expected to receive salaries,” Amadi explained.
Traditional ruler of Owerri, Imo State, HRH Eze Peter Njemanze, on his part, said that to ensure adequate security of lives and property, the police personnel should be handsomely paid so that they will bring out their time for the job. “Anybody who is poorly paid, you don’t expect him to give out his best,” he said.
Retired Commissioner of Police Ojukwu was the keynote speaker at the event. He called on the public to trust the police and work with them for a secured environment.
The workshop was attended by police personnel from the five South Eastern states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo, as well as traditional rulers and police constabularies.
