Monrovia – Police Inspector General Patrick Sudue has frown on the misconduct of Police officers and acts of bribery when performing their duties.
Report by Willie N. Tokpa h – [email protected]
Inspector Sudue said bribery and misconducts of some Police officers contravene the Police code of ethics, something his administration will not encourage.
Addressing locals in Samukai Town, Upper Montserrado County, at the start of the week, the LNP boss mentioned “drunkenness on jobs, consumption of narcotic substances while performing their duties and extortion of money from citizens to perform their roles” as vices his administration will kick against.
“We are talking to our officers to be peaceful, we are talking to them not to use force unless at a constraint where all options are being observed.
If there is any Police officer involved in harassing citizens for money or abusing them when complaint is carried to Police station, reports that officer and we will take action,” he said.
“If you see any Police officer in uniform and drinking alcohol or in ghettoes taking in narcotic substances, report them to us.
“There are some bad apples in the Police, but under this administration, if we will be left with 10 good Police officers, so be it. But any Police man who will be caught in act of brutality or drunk in uniform, you don’t have a Police job to protect anymore,” Inspector Sudue warned.
While he wants personnel of the LNP to conduct themselves positively, the LNP boss also called on community members to respect law enforcers in Liberia.
His statement comes in the wake of series of concerns raised during a town hall engagement with members of various communities in Caldwell about misconduct of some Police officers.
The engagement was initiated through a partnership between the Bowier Trust Foundation Switzerland, an international NGO working in Liberia and the Liberia National Police in building relationship.
During the dialogue, Sudue noted that the LNP is faced with some challenges in executing its duties due to limited resources.
“Right now the government doesn’t have anything; they are starting on a bad footing and this is the reason why we are coming to the community to assist us,” he said.
The LNP Inspector General further noted that the current strength of his men is not encouraging to provide complete security service for Liberia’s current population.
He placed the total numbers of LNP manpower in Liberia at approximately 5,000; a figure he believes cannot serve a population of approximately 4.5 Million people.
However, the Police chief encouraged citizens to exercise restraints until government gets the capacity to improve the manpower of the Police force.
Until that happens, he wants the community join the LNP in curtailing crimes.
As an initial process, LNP new administration has at the same time begun initiating new approach in improving Police relationship with various communities across Liberia.
The Police boss has embarked on dialogue with community members on issues affecting them and finding ways for both parties can work in mitigating crimes.
“We are coming to you the community, to help us fight crime. You can help us to fight crime, by giving us the necessary information that we need. If you give us that information, people will be arrested and criminals will leave your areas,” Inspector Sudue noted.
Inspector Sudue lauded the Bowier Trust Foundation for joining them in ensuring a cordial relationship between the LNP and community dwellers, mentioning peace and conflict resolution as a hallmark of his administration to peacefully work with the community.
For his part, Assistant Police Inspector for Operation, Nelson Freeman noted that the LNP is working for community and should not create fear among its members.
According to Freeman, complaints from citizens about the misconducts of some Police officers are true but promised his leadership commitment in working to improve on that.
Freeman, however, stated that the LNP administration is considering monitoring and evaluation of its officers in the good interest of the force.
During the occasion, Bowier Trust Liberia Management Team Administrator Hamnson Gaye said the current engagement by the LNP is an issue of interest to his organization.
Mr. Gaye said the LNP decision to have a community-to-community engagement is necessary in creating a cordial Police-community partnership.
“Seeing our Police coming down to our people is a good thing because manpower is an issue and the community will help to secure its self in the absent of that if they and the Police work together,” Gaye averred.
At the same time, some community members expressed gratitude for the engagement and lauded the LNP for its hard work.
The Youth Chairman of Samukai Town, Nana Oliver Dangbuah, told the gathering that limited logistic and support to Police depots within the Caldwell belt is contributing to poor performances of LNP officers assigned there.
Dangbuah, however, wants the Police do a proper monitoring and evaluation of its officer in time.
“Monitoring and evaluation has to be actually done by the Police, there are people in the Police who have different attitudes and some of them do not work according to their duty manual,” he said, while calling on the LNP to help train members of the community watch team.