Sanwo-Olu Inaugurates Community Policing In Lagos
Oluwapelumi Fasoyin, Lagos
Governor Babajide has inaugurated the State Community Policing Advisory Committee and State Community Policing Committee on Wednesday.
At the inauguration Sanwo-Olu disclosed that the security of lives and properties of the state is part of his mandate.
He noted that the establishment of the State Community Policing Advisory Committee and its operations arm, the State Community Policing Committee was geared towards improving security in the state.
The Governor said, the reform is being implemented with the objective to address inadequacies of the current policing model, which, had failed to engage members of local communities and neighbourhoods in knowledge sharing and intelligence gathering that could help in nipping crimes in the bud.
"Whereas, today, we brought together our security agencies, community leaders and other stakeholders that will help us succeed," he said.
Therefore, SCPAC, will be Chaired by Council of Obas and Chiefs in Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, will be the custodian of the initiative and it is to maintain highest level of oversight on community policing in the State which will be Co-chaired by the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu.
On the other hand, SPAC will be responsible for managing and coordinating the State-level operations of the community policing programme, and it will, 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.
Sanwo-Olu stated that deploying technology, equipping the police with modern gadgets to fight crimes remained a novel idea any Government could introduce, but that such could not be a substitute for mutual trust & cooperation between police and members of their host communities.
“Community policing, in its ideal implementation, will take a lot of pressure off the Police Force and allow them to focus their energy and resources where it matters most”.
It will give citizens and residents a strong sense of participation in governance, and strengthen the social contract between the Government and the governed. A citizen-centric approach to tackling crime and criminality is a big plus for democratic practice and governance.”
He further charged members of the committees to discharge their tasks with patriotism, integrity and diligence, saying their membership was a “rare privilege” and an opportunity to serve Lagos and the nation.
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