Breakdown Of The Community Policing Deployment Plan Released By IGP

COMMUNITY POLICING

According Nigeria Police Force, they are drawing on the provisions of the police Act in relation to the recruitment and utilisation of the Special Constables who will be engaged as COMMUNITY POLICING OFFICERS (CPOs) under the coordination of the Nigeria Police towards evolving a community-focused policing architecture.

During the conference with senior Police Officers held on 30TH July, 2019 at the IGP conference hall, force headquarters, Abuja.  The IGP MOHAMMED A. ADAMU, NPM, comment on the Community Police in his opening speech. He said:

1. In order to sustain these gains, we have commenced the process of implementing the Community Policing concept which involves the engagement of citizens in identifying and prioritizing prevalent communal security threats as they affect their localities, and working together with the police towards developing and implementing solutions to the identified threats.

2. In giving effect to this, we are drawing on the Provisions of the Police Act in relation to the recruitment and utilisation of Special Constables who in this instance, will be engaged as Community Policing Officers (CPOs) under the coordination of the Nigeria Police towards evolving a community-focused policing architecture.

3. The breakdown of the Community Policing deployment plan covers the recruitment of a total of forty thousand (40,000) CPOs across the country in the interim. The CPOs will be recruited from within the communities where the prospective applicants reside and average of fifty (50) CPOs are to be engaged in each of the 774 Local Government Areas. In addition, one thousand (1,300) CPOs will be drawn from professional bodies like the academics, Road Transport Unions, Artisans, Traders Associations, Religious Bodies, Women Unions, and Youth Organisations among others in order to ensure diverse representation.

4. The CPOs shall be deployed to complement the Police in law enforcement functions within their localities by performing Iow-risk and nonsensitive duties. They will also act as liaisons between the Police and their communities. This policing architecture will free-up conventional police personnel that hitherto perform such functions and enhance our manpower profile in relation to deployment to frontline, operational duties. When fully implemented, the Community Policing Strategy will bridge the gap between the Police and the citizens in a manner that will enhance optimal, cost-effective, and sustainable law enforcement service delivery by the Police.