Federal Govt Trains 25,000 Constabularies for Community Policing
- Community policing is a concept that is fast gaining ground in Nigeria especially among the police force.
- Its model emphasizes proactive rather than reactive policing and the Nigeria Police Force seems to be focused on achieving it
- The minister of police affairs says about 25,000 trained constables will be deployed nationwide to monitor situations that arise in communities
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FCT, Abuja - The minister of police affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi has revealed that in the implementation of the community policing initiative of the Buhari administration, about 25,000 constabularies were trained in several police colleges across the country.
He made this known during the 2nd ministerial press briefing held at the Nigeria Police Force headquarters, Abuja on Tuesday, August 24 and attended by a Legit.ng reporter.
Source: Getty Images
What are the benefits of community policing?
The minister said the successful officers were trained on basic police duties, modern intelligence-gathering techniques, and rule of law.
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He added that they have been deployed to their local governments of origin to aid in intelligence gathering and improve police visibility in their communities.
His words:
“Our efforts towards the actualization of increasing the number of police/citizens ratio, (418) cadet officers of regular course 3 were successfully graduated in June 2021 and deployed into the operational asset of the Nigeria Police Force.”
He noted that his ministry through the Nigeria Police Force embarked on the re-organization and reform of police tactical squads.
According to him, while the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was dissolved, the Special Weapons and Tactics Team, (SWAT) was set up in October 2020 to meet the yearnings and aspirations of citizens.
He said selected officers for SWAT, were trained at the new Police Mobile Training College, at Ende Hills in Nasarawa State.
Dingyadi pointed out that the reform became necessary in the wake of THE #EndSARS protest to reform police tactical operational outfit.
He noted that the government remained committed to sustainable implementation of legitimate demands of the protesters, which led to the establishment of judicial panels of inquiry, to listen to complaints against police infractions in various states of the federation.
In his goodwill message, the minister of interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola commended Dingyadi for showing and signifying cardinal programmes of the present administration.
What is the meaning of community policing?
According to the US department of justice, community policing is a philosophy that promotes organisational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues.
Such issues are crime, social disorder, and fear of crime, and other factors that cause insecurity in society.
Meanwhile, the federal government has approved over N4billion in the 2021 budget for fueling vehicles owned by the Nigeria Police Force nationwide.
Legit.ng gathered that the amount would cover expenditure on fuel supply to police commands in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The move is also the first in the history of Nigeria where money is budgeted for fuelling police vehicles.
In a related development, the Nigeria Police Force has inaugurated the West African Police Information System (WAPIS) centre in Abuja as an initiative to fast-track the fight against transnational crimes.
The centre is situated at the INTERPOL National Central Bureau office, Force Headquarters, Abuja.
Legit.ng gathered that the establishment of the centre in Nigeria is part of efforts by the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force to galvanize a multinational front and sustain international collaboration and partnership with police organizations across the world.
Source: Legit.ng
