MONROVIA – Since its inception in 2005, the Women and Children Protection Section (WACPS), Liberia National Police has tracked sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) cases manually. Staff received reports of rape cases from Liberia’s 15 counties and tallied them in an excel
Thanks to funding from the Peace Building Fund and the Embassy of Sweden, and technical support from UN Women, the Liberia National Police now has a software to track SGBV cases from police zones around Monrovia.
The database was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) and feeds into the information management system that MGCSP is developing.
Last week, UN Women equipped the WACPS with five desktop computers, one stored with the Sexual-Gender-Based Tracking and Reporting software, desks and air conditioners. In addition, UN Women trained four of the staffers in the use of the software to track cases, including rape and other forms of violence against women.
Susie T. Telleh, Director of the WACPS, said that the support from UN Women is a major boost for the Section because staff can now accurately track SGBV cases. The web-based software will enable the police to expand the information to include people with disability, photos and more detailed information on the suspects and victims.
Telleh is one of the four people trained to operate the software. Telleh will be responsible for verifying the data and writing reports to share with partners and other agencies. Police, she said, gets cases from the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and the five referral hospitals: Star of the Sea in West Point; Redemption Hospital; James David Hospital in Neezo; Duport Road Hospital; and Hope for Women in Paynesville.
“Before the database, we did everything manually,’’ she said. ‘’We simply created an excel spread sheet and put information in it.’’
Vannah M.T. Boakai, Special Assistant at WACPS, said that the Police Crime Unit will now be able to easily share data with partners. Police, he said, has always had difficulty accurately capturing data on SGBV cases.
Jerry N. Alladin, Acting Deputy of Operations, is one of the three trainees. Alladin said he learned how to manage crime statistics, , store information in cloud and generate reports in excel and PDF.
“This is going to really reduce the paperwork,’’ he said. “Our data on SGBV will be more accurate.’’
The goal, Telleh said, is to enable police stations in the remaining 14 counties to access the software to track SGBV cases. Right now, the reports will be filed manually and WCPS will load it into the system.
“I think we’re on the right track, thanks to UN Women and her donors,’’ she said.