MONROVIA – A song, “I Know My Level”, by a popular Ghanaian artist, globally known as ‘Shatta Wale’, blared out from large speakers in the compound of the Senzokis Beach Bar & Entertainment Center, in Liberia’s capital, on March 30, 2019, as members of the Montserrado County Detachment of the Liberia National Police (LNP) filed out into the compound to discuss serious national issues.
Report by Samuel G. Dweh/freelance journalist, (+231) 886618906/776583266/[email protected]
The breeze from the Atlantic Ocean rustled into the compound built along a Beach.
Within the period of forty minutes, later, the Inspector General of LNP and other members of the LNP’S hierarchy strolled in, accompanied by retinues of body guards.
Majority of the officers were in plain-cloths.
Giving the Brief Summary of the Detachment’s “Achievements and Challenges”, the Commander of the Montserrado County Detachment, Assistant Commander of Police, Johnny Z. Duarnyenneh, mentioned five successes and two challenges.
“The Detachment was able to open an account to enable us identify with our officers in time of sickness and death,” ACP Duarnyenneh announced the first of his leadership’s accomplishments over a less-than-two-years of service.
Other accomplishments, by his leadership, he stated, are: promotion of six female officers to ‘commander status’ to head various zones and depots in the County; commencement of construction of a police depot, in Peace Island (a community), popularly called “5-40”; construction of a police depot by residents of a Town, Gbakor, in Upper Brewerville, on persuasion by his leadership, after various visitations and meetings with the people of the community; and the Retreat being held on that day (Saturday, March 30)
“The Detachment today is hosting a one-day historical retreat on this 30th day of March, 2019,” ACP Duarnyenneh announced with a triumphant tone.
On “Challenges”, the high-ranked LNP officer mentioned problems of mobility and man-power.
On mobility issues, ACP Duarnyenneh said, “some officers of this Detachment use their private vehicles and motorcycles to respond to crime scenes at their expense in the interest of our noble organization with their AOR.”
Some depots have only six patrol officers, while others have only nine patrol officers, ACP Duarnyenneh reported when speaking on the “man-power” challenges of his Detachment.
He said only three recruitments were made, prior to his appointment as Montserrado County’s LNP Detachment, to support the strength of a 304-officer Police Support Unit (PSU). But, “since then, recruitment has not been made by the administration to have these men replaced to the various zones and depots, which has created a big gap within the patrol division,” ACP Duarnyenneh complained.
Giving the breakdown of the past recruitments, the Montserrado County Detachment boss, said: “first recruitment: 178 patrol officers; second recruitment: 97 patrol officers; and third recruitment: 122 patrol officers.”
ACP Johnny Z. Duarnyenneh concluded with an appeal: “Having outlined the challenges faced by the Montserrado County Police Detachment, we are pleased to request the administration of the Liberia National Police to kindly look into the directions reference these challenges for the smooth and reflective operations of the detachment, as well as the LNP.”
Some of the senior officers made presentations as tutorials.
Speaking on media relations, LNP’s Spokesperson, and Chief of Press and Public Affairs, Moses Carter (DCP), advised patrol/traffic officers against speaking directly to journalists on issues relating to the police or police-public relations.
The LNP’s Spokesperson shifted blame to some members of his department for delaying to forward to him police-related complaints from outside.
“Some of the public’s mistrust of the entire police force is from this,” said the former newspaper publisher/managing editor.
Giving example of information delay, he mentioned the report on the alleged flogging of a woman in Sinoe County, in south-eastern Liberia, by some persons on suspicion of the flogged woman being a witch that sniffed a life out of a child.
“That information didn’t filter to the LNP’s Press and Public Affairs Department in time,” he said.
The patrol/traffic division and the Press and Public Affairs of the LNP have to be “proactive,” Moses Carter said.
DCP Carter criticized broadcast journalists who do their investigation on a police-community issues while they are sitting behind a microphone in radio stations.
“Whenever any of these guys calls me, to confirm the information, while they are on air, I tell the person, ‘I’m with in a meeting, I will call you back in a few minutes’, just to get the person off my back,” he admitted.
“Only two persons the LNP’s policy authorizes to speak to any member of the press: the Inspector General of the Liberia National Police or the official spokesperson of the LNP,” he said, responding to a question from an officer identified as ‘Metro 2’, wanting to know whether patrol officers should speak with journalist at where a crime had been committed.
Hon. Sabastine Farr, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) for Community Services Department, spoke on “Training and Manpower Development” as a topic.
He presented from a manual read by officer Amara Y. Jabateh (CSP/CO-4)
He said ‘military training’ is has been inserted in the LNP’s training manual at the Police Academy, “to adequately prepare you for your law-enforcement task,” he stated.
He criticized police officers who put their official titles on their private vehicles to prevent arrest by their colleagues in the Traffic Division. “This is a gross indiscipline,” he blasted.
A female officer, Ophelia Wisseh, CO-4, expressed concern during input from the floor. “Should superior officer insult a junior officer as it often happens?” she enquired from the speaker.
“Never should that be, even behind closed door,” the speaker replied.
Speaking on the topic, “Crime Scene Management”, Hon. Prince Mulbah, DIGP for Community Services Division (CSD), remarked: “Crime scene officers should always carry a notepad and should be able to vividly describe a crime scene.”
He also talked about ‘back-logging’, where an officer give an earlier date to a current information to conceal information.
Hon. Robert Budy, Deputy Inspector General of Police for Operations, with the LNP’s code “102”, spoke on the topic, “Uniform Code of Value”.
He said policing was first envisaged in 1829 by a Briton called Robert Peal, the Mayor of London, who later introduced the word ‘Police’ in Great Britain, and that the members of the British police force treated the uniform as a sacred component of law enforcement.
“But in Liberia, in especially in recent times, many of our officers’ uniforms are totally different, in color, from the official uniform each officer is expected to wear,” he said, adding that some officers’ uniforms are dirty, or faded, or torn at various points when they are in public.
“102” lambasted patrol officers who extort money from private vehicle operators. “I have a personal knowledge of a police officer who arrests only white people’s vehicles and extort money from them. He moves about on motorbike,” he revealed, but refused to disclose the person’s identity at the Retreat.
He also spoke about effects of poor personal hygiene of (some) officers when they are on duty.
“Some officers have ordor. Some leave the armpit hairs. Can members of the public respect you with these and with your ugly uniform?” he threw a question to then audience of junior officers.
He said old, torn or faded uniform used to be a scarce thing when was an officer in the Liberia Immigration Service.
On a ‘bad police uniform’, “102” said, he had spent his personal money on a new, personal police uniform when he had just joined the LNP and when the current Police IG told him the Government had not released money for the general LNP’s uniform.
During questions time, officer Momolu A. Smallwood, OPS (5-D) said to “102”: “What is the leadership of the Liberia National Police doing to replace these old uniforms patrol or traffic police officers are in on duty?”
“Please keep that question for the Operations department,” the Chief of Traffic deferred the answer to the authority over the matter.
Officer Ellice Wiggins (U-114), of the Administration Department, representing his boss, Hon. Sadiatu Reeves (DIGP), said some of the deaths in the LNP are caused by officers’ over-time work, and that the authorities of the LNP are planning a “compulsory resting time” for serving officers to be with their families.
Some officers raised concerns for the Administration officer.
The first person, officer Serkeh Duotay OPS (3D2), said: “Every month, the authority of the LNP takes Insurance money from our salaries, but we can’t see the benefits of the Insurance deductions.”
The second person, female officer Mary Howard, of Zone 5, Depot 2, wanted to know why some of officers who had served for two or three years are not promoted.
Closing the official speech/remark session, Liberia’s Inspector General of Police (IGP), Hon. Patrick T. Sudue, first called for a ‘moment of silence’ on the deaths of officers of the LNP, and for a senior LNP officer’s wife who died days to the Retreat.
He praised the Montserrado County Detachment of the LNP for the Retreat. “To my knowledge this Retreat is the first in the history of the Montserrado County Detachment of the LNP,” he said.
“Our performance for 2017 is bad!” declared the IGP, in non-official wears, with the muscles of his upper body pumping through his T-shirt, especially his hands.
He said the general performance of the LNP is being reflected in the U.S. Government’s reports on the ‘Police’ of Liberia.
“You take 10, 20 dollars from people during investigations, or you detain them if they can’t give you bribes,” he said to the ‘bad eggs’ in the LNP.
Giving example of extortion, the IGP told the story of a male civilian who had been robbed by a police officer for US$20, detained at a police station, and later died.
The LNP’s #1 member expressed his reservation on the U.S. Government’s implied generalization on the ‘extra-judicial killing’ segment of the report on the Liberia National Police of Liberia. “When one officer kills, it does not mean everybody kills,” he said.
The authorities of the LNP will soon introduce surveillance cameras for officers accustomed to committing crimes, IGP Sudue revealed.
Responding to officer Momolu A. Smallwood’s question about the LNP leadership’s intervention to replace the faded or torn uniforms on officers on duty, IGP Sudue said a 40-foot container with new Police uniforms was berthed at Liberia’s premier seaport, Freeport of Monrovia, at the time the Retreat was being held.
“The container will be released this evening, or in the early hours of Monday (April 1),” he said.
He also talked about a new Headquarters for members of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU), a special section of the LNP whose main duty is to guard or escort the Head of State. “The men’s quarters have been completed; the women’s quarters are nearing completion,” he revealed.
In his concluding statements, IGP Patrick T. Sudue said he had met with the head of the United Nations Police (UNPOL) in the United States, during one of his official visits in the U.S., and spoke with the UNPOL’s boss about LNP officers for peacekeeping missions. “I also suggested to the UNPOL boss to serve as our representative at UNPOL,” the Liberian Police chief added.