Community policing: ‘Recruitment of special constables underway’

The Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, Kenneth Ebrimson, says the State Command would soon commence the recruitment of special constables as part of efforts to encourage community policing in the fight against crime at the grassroots. Ebrimson disclosed this yesterday while speaking with newsmen in Abeokuta at the inauguration of Venerable Samson Popoola as […]

The Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, Kenneth Ebrimson, says the State Command would soon commence the recruitment of special constables as part of efforts to encourage community policing in the fight against crime at the grassroots.

Ebrimson disclosed this yesterday while speaking with newsmen in Abeokuta at the inauguration of Venerable Samson Popoola as Chairman of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC).

Ebrimson stated that the recruitment would commence this week after arrangements had been finalised at the Area Command, local government areas and the divisional levels.

The Commissioner noted that the constables would be trained on the police operation and would be given police uniform, although without badge.

The constables, he explained, would assist the command to prevent criminal activities, give the Command intelligence reports and resolve crisis among members of the public.

He said, “The pilot scheme of the recruitment of the constabulary will form the bulk of the community policing practitioners at the community level to assist the police in prevention, information and intelligence gathering and conflict resolution.

“In no distance time when all these levels of advisory committee of the community policing have been finalized, the next level will be the consolidation of the recruitment of the constabulary by sending them to a modicum training of police operation, which will translate to bringing them in as part of our partners and, also, part of the concept.

“The idea is to give them a sense of belonging. When recruited, they will be given the police uniform. But the only difference will be the signal, the badge. With that sense of belonging, they will now see the police as their own police, too.”

Popoola promised that his administration as the PCRC Chairman would transform community policing in the state.