In my many lectures, engagement on the street of Monrovia and in several Liberian gathering, outside of Liberia, some of my compatriot have expressed series of views, focusing on the failures of the Police to implement policing strategy directed at sustaining and facilitating human rights, at the same time suggesting weakness in the Police ability to response to crimes and public safety issues.
Most of the generated judgements have been focused on morality as the basic of their arguments. There are several dispositions, without any reference to facts or the good of the public, proffered by some of the best minds in our society. As repugnant, as some of the views might be, some rightly referred to the Police as being judge, jury and executioner at the same time.
I am in in partial support of the latter, as there is no place in this advance world of technology and human advancement, for those entrusted with upholding of the law to derail public trust in the name of maintaining law and order.
I maintained in the short time I spent as the Deputy Chief of the Liberian National Police, responsible for operations that hot- persuade of armed robber and other dangerous criminal, who, whether in a car or on a motorbike, can be done in a safe and effective manner, while at the same time providing a different approach to addressing the question; whether or not Police effectiveness can be a tradeoff for personal liberty in this post UNMIL environment?
We must began to have a shift from our subjective held view, that the Police are just tools we can use when we need them and dispose of them, when they are enforcing the law against us.
I will attempt to provide you with a series of viewpoints to disabuse the traditional, “blame the Police first” syndrome, some have held over the years. Some of those views are supported by the history of abuse perpetrated by the Police, who in some case were used as agent of abused reflected in our history. Some of the views I will use to make my points are not original, but I subscribe to all of the underlining premises.
One issue that became of focused to most of my contacts, was the issues of Police brutality in the name of Law and Order. Complaints that are not strange to any Police department around the world, irrespective of their racial configuration.
However, no decision that an officer makes is more important than the one to use force in some cases deadly force, which is for the most part, an exercise of the state’s supreme power—the ability to end the lives or disable its citizens. (Bearing in mind, the sentiment of the social contract).
Moreover, the social consequences of exercising this ultimate power can be quite profound. Time and again, such cases have led to political upheaval, community outrage, and even full-blown riots as in New York, Paris, Ferguson, Baltimore, and to a certain extent, Monrovia. Most officers involved in the use of force, do not prompt notable social disruption, but public concern about force is always present.
It is indisputable that in the case of America, and in an emerging system like the LNP, the population has always been uneasy about being Policed by an armed constabulary and their bias finds its clearest expression among Police critics, who discover something to complain about nearly every time an officer is involved in a use of force situation.
One reason for this state of affairs is that discourse about the use of force has long revolved primarily around competing moral judgments about the Police, as was amplified by most of my contacts.
There are some who are not even aware, in this day and age, the responsibility of the Deputy versus the Director of Police, notwithstanding the doctrine of respondeat superior (Latin for “Let the master answer”), but yet stand in judgement.
The adoption of the new Police act will go a long way in addressing some of these issues. Critics of law enforcement point, for example, to cases in which officers shoot unarmed citizens and say, “Cops are trigger-happy.”
Meanwhile, Police supporters point to officers who are killed or injured in shootouts with criminals and say, “Cops are heroes.” If we are to bridge, or at least narrow, this divide and thereby ease the public’s anxiety, I believe we must learn to think about the phenomenon of Police use of force from a fresh view point.
This shift must recognize some of the lack of judgement on the part of some Police officers on a regular basis, and condemn it, as unacceptable and unnecessary to this modern approach to international justice and the rule of law, on the other hand, we must begin to move past the passion-laden medium of morality and towards a deeper understanding of the social reality of the use of force in our societies. The social contract was not adopted for decoration sake, but rather, for the maintenance of social order.
Therefore, this move might well serve to enlighten Police critics and other concerned citizens about the nature of Police work, the dangers officers face, how this influences their attitudes and actions, and what we can realistically expect Police to do when confronted with life-and-death situations, a situation that Liberians are very much aware of and is already deep seated in most developed countries. .
Such enlightenment could, in turn, help the public, critics included, to see that the use of force is sometimes unavoidable; that Police officers must sometimes shot to protect themselves and other innocents from harm.
A move away from the moral plane might also help remind Police and their supporters’ that democratic policing requires restraint and forbearance on the part of those who carry a badge and gun. This, in turn, might help officers deal with citizens in ways that minimize the odds that someone arm will be broken or gunfire will erupt.
On the other hand, extensive evidence indicates that how the Police structure their interactions with citizens can have a marked effect on the likelihood of violence.
The current Liberian situation must adopt the later, reflecting the apprehension population as a result of the withdrawal of UNMIL from Liberia. The LNP should now adopt the proactive approach, empowering the men on the beat approach, having patrol cars in urban areas.
It is about time the 73 district is structure, with logistical and manpower deployment. Under this new dispensation, it is advisable that the LNP upgrade the salary structure of the men and women of the department, to ensure accountability and responsibility. The provision of the Basic needed logistical supply for public safety is required for Police effective operation.
Moreover, in conclusion, I believe that the long-held assumption that Police cannot decrease crime, without reducing attention to due process is outdated and requires revision. Research evidence and experience suggests that it is possible to reduce crime and preserve liberties with carefully structured enforcement strategies that are also embraced by citizens.
I believe it is conceivable that with some training or a clear directive, any type of Police intervention could be used to facilitate legitimate Police use of force, as long as it includes an opportunity for Police to engage in dialogue with citizens and a citizen inclusive review commission as spelled out in the new Police act.
To be effective in dealing with any crime or law and order issues, Police department must adopt as part of the culture, consistency, Persistency and fairness in dealing with issues. This strategy not only reduce crime, it built a better Police and citizen relationship. Citizen tern to acknowledge the Police responsibility with a sense of fairness and confidence.
If deterrence is the almost objective for any effective Police strategy, the citizen in reliance on the social contract, will appreciate a focus Police organization, with an unbiased approach to Problem-oriented and focused policing strategies.
This approach have shown the most effective means for reducing crime, and also demonstrate promise for increasing equity (both actual and perceived). It is clear to me that Police-community relations can be built, simultaneously increasing public safety, on one hand, and ensuring civil liberty on the other.
The role of the Policy Board in the new Police act, them, should include the adoption of practical and realistic social theories that will help to strengthen the work of the Police.
Perhaps it would be more productive to re-contextualize many of the things Police do well—good policing—under the human rights rubric. To do so, shifts the discussion to the many ways the Police can secure, uphold, and reaffirm human rights, much to the benefit of democratic processes and civic confidence in the Police.
This is not to minimize the reckless behaviors of some Police officers and or departments, but rather, provide room for a paradigm shift, allowing accountability to be center staged.
This viewpoint is embedded in the benefit accrued from the combination of the many policing strategies with the hope of achieving crime reduction at the same time ensuring the rights of the citizens, coming in contact with the system.
Therefore, I will argue that before we blame the Police first, we must look at their role in the criminal justice system, and what can be done to change the perception and issues deriving from their interactions.
Criminologists have over the years, used social theory as a tools for resolving problem derived from these complicated social interactions, which has to a larger extend, served many functions in the public policy arena.
Two of the most important interventions in the realm of crime and justice that must characterize future interaction are :(1) Guiding the actions of criminal justice agencies and personnel; and (2) explaining to members of the public how and why agencies and personnel act the way they do. However, this and many other intervention must be engraved in the culture construct of the head of the organization.
All Policy must be communicated and guided by the Director of the agency to be implemented through the various deputies. When members of the criminal justice system have a good understanding of this social theory, they can use it as a framework for setting goals, developing procedures to fulfill them, and tailoring training in ways that further them, the public stand to benefit a more opened and fairer system of Justice.
Similarly, they will find it easier to explain their work to laymen and increase public support for their actions, this will also enhance the theoretical underpinnings of their operations tactics and procedures in a post conflict environment like ours.
Greed and less public engagement prompted the less than desired results in the early approach to the clampdown against commercial motorists from the main urban streets in Monrovia and its environs. To address specific public connected and in most cases derivative crime situation like the commercial motorist issues, or union oriented crisis, it is advisable to adequately have a sustainable engagement with the public.
The benefit expected by the weary public from public safety initiative addressing the wave of violent perpetrated by some commercial motorbike riders on the main streets of Monrovia, were lost in the motorist quest for personal voracity, which to a larger extend went unnoticed by the public or oblivious to the public good, the Police action provided.
This phenomenon has to a larger extend contributed to the rejections and negative reaction to Police action, in most developing countries, Liberia included. While it is cleared that the action of the bikers were killing, harming and damaging property at an alarming rate, some citizen reacted negatively towards Police action.
Be that as it may, we made some little impact in reversing the commercial Bikers (pen pen) issue in Liberia in the interest of public safety. They were removed from the main streets of Monrovia and contained on the feudal roads of the communities, which contributed immensely to public safety in Liberia.
With the new Police act passing into law in the midst of the UNMIL departure from Liberia, I am of the strong conviction that the society stands ready to benefit from a new paradigm shift, a shift that bears its focus on the many international guidance from other professionals around the world, including the USA and the appreciation by Liberian of the strong Police leadership.
Moreover, it is now cleared that, in the midst of competing priorities, national government has no choice, but to address the much needed logistical needs of the Police and staff the force with capable managers to lead this emerging organization to it capacity.
The citizen and the sub-region still look to Liberia for leadership in this global terrorist and extremist environment.
Abe Kromah, MA, Contributing Writer