Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo Olu on wednesday inaugurated the State Community Policing Advisory Committee(SCPAC) and State Community Policing Committee(SCPC) tailored at implementing overdue policing reforms in the state.
Inaugurating members of the two committees at a ceremony held at the State House Alausa,The governor said the step was geared toward improving security in all communities across the state.
Sanwo-Olu said the inauguration marked a turning point in government’s deliberate effort to re-strategize and rethink the security architecture, using Community Policing Initiative as proposed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mr Muhammed Adamu.
“A major inadequacy of our current policing system has been the inability to tap the knowledge and intelligence that exists at neighbourhood and community level.”
“We are implementing this policing initiative with the sole objective of creating a platform for citizens’ participation towards improving security in our communities.
The SCPAC is co-chaired by the state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, and the Chairman of Council of Obas and Chiefs in Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu.
State Community Policing Committee (SCPC) on the other hand, would be responsible for managing and coordinating the state-level operations of the community policing programme.
SCPC would, among other functions, help identify security threats in communities and work with the police and the Community Police Officers (CPOs) in evolving appropriate strategies for addressing them.
The work that the police are expected to do becomes more difficult when they are expected to do it alone.
”No matter how well-resourced or technologically advanced a police force may be, there may be no progress without the trust and support of the communities in which they operate.
”Every citizen has a role to play in ensuring that the security architecture functions optimally,” he said.
The governor said that deploying technology and equipping the police with modern gadgets to fight crimes remained a novel idea for government .
According to the governor,with both committees in place the state now have operational guidelines and procedures to promote peoples confidence in the state security agencies.
“With both committees in place, we now have operational guidelines and procedures that will promote and sustain mutual trust, respect and confidence between the people and security agencies thereby making Lagos State safer for our people”
