Two hours with the American police

Surprisingly, that was not the case as we couldn’t see any of these. All hope was not dashed as we disembarked and headed into the entrance of what is to be the headquarters of Scottsdale Police and Fire department in Arizona. On September 7, 2012, this reporter, together with seven other participants in the United […]

Surprisingly, that was not the case as we couldn’t see any of these. All hope was not dashed as we disembarked and headed into the entrance of what is to be the headquarters of Scottsdale Police and Fire department in Arizona.

On September 7, 2012, this reporter, together with seven other participants in the United States International Visitor Leadership Programme on Investigative Journalism and New Electronic Media, drawn from various African countries, were visitors of the Scottsdale Police Department.

On entering the spacious reception area, an obese Indian-American lady, kitted in a saggy police uniform was sitting behind a large oak-paneled table replete with stationery, communication equipments, coffee parcolator, among other items smiled at us.

Before we were ushered in by the department’s muscular-public information officer, Sergeant Police Mark Clark, I quickly scanned the palatial reception area looking for the usual “Bail is free” sign, dotting almost all the Nigerian police stations.

Instead, what I saw were a gallery and museums. There was a gallery containing a miniature pool with props and graphics saying “We can prevent drowning.” These also include tips for the public on safety measures against drowning.

There was the dog section, with graphics and pictorials of dogs training sessions with officers. The crime scene area has human skeletal system and how it works, among others.

The Scottsdale police museum is also another interesting spectacle. There were several police paraphernalia, comprising various types of uniforms, depicting various incidences of the police departments, boots, berets, weapons, communication gadgets and motorbikes.

Unlike most of the police stations in Nigeria, there were no clusters of people (complainants and bail-seekers), speaking in hush tones or negotiating with case officers in the Scottsdale police station.

Scottsdale is one of the 22 cities in the state of Arizona with a population of 217,385 as at 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau. Arizona has United States border with Mexico.

It is bordered to the west by Phoenix and Paradise Valley, to the north by Carefree, to the south by Tempe, and to the east by Fountain Hills and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, a peculiar city called “a sovereign nation” in the United States.

The Scottsdale police chief, Alan G. Rodbell, said during an interactive session that Scottsdale police department “provides services for big guys that come to Phoenix and get into trouble.”

That is why downtown Scottsdale is described by the American media as “a desert version of Miami’s South Beach” and having “plenty of late night partying and a buzzing hotel scene.”

The Scottsdale police department has a total of 1,170 personnel, of which 470 are active officers while 700 are volunteer officers, with annual budget of $200 million (N32billion).

Rodbell said that $120 million (N19.2billion) is for public safety (fire division) and $80 million (N12.8 billion) for the police, making him the chief police and fire officer.

In contrast, while Scottsdale police, with 1,170 personnel get N32 billion to police 217, 385 people annually, Nigeria police, with roughly 376, 000 were only allocated N307.8 billion to police 160 million people this year, according to 2012 annual budget estimates.

The same budget estimates show that the Federal Fire Service was allocated N3.012 billion to carry out its “statutory responsibility for rescue, fire prevention, mitigation, firefighting paramedic and information services to all Nigerians irrespective of status or ethnic belonging in order to minimize the possibility of loss of life and property to fire and other emergencies.”

The Federal Ministry of Police Affairs was allocated N6.1billion for “overseeing the affairs of the Nigeria Police Force and officers and men of the Police Force,” the 2012 budget document shows.

The Police Service Commission, according to 2012 budget estimates, got N2.4 billion to carry out its constitutional oversight “powers to appoint, promote, discipline and dismiss all officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) except the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).”

The fortune of the Nigeria police may likely witness no significant improvement as the federal government is proposing N319 billion to the cops in 2013, according to the budget proposals read by President Goodluck Jonathan before the joint session of the National Assembly last Wednesday.

This amount is meant for the running of the Nigeria police 37 commands, six formations: Port Authority Police, Police Cooperative, Police Academy Kano, Marine Police, Counter Terrorism Squad, Community Policing; four regular police colleges in Kaduna, Lagos, Maiduguri, Oji; two professional colleges for detectives in Enugu and ICT in Abeokuta as well as the two Mobile police colleges in Gwoza and Ila-Orangun.

Talking about corruption among the cops, the police chief said that “there was no corruption case against any officer in the department in the last 11 years.”  “It is our system here that officers don’t tell a lie no matter how small. The policy is: Tell a lie and you are fired,” the police chief who spent the entire two hours standing, said.

Both officers and volunteers undergo serious scrutiny before they are recruited. Rodbell said that applicants have to be subjected to mucus test, physical test, panel interview, background investigations, polygraph test before giving a conditional offer of employment and sent to training academy.

The chief said that recruits spent between 14 to 24 weeks in the training academy, at the same time being subjected to various testing for drug use by doctors and psychologists.

Successful applicants from the training academy are moved to the police academy where they are taught laws of the land. “Police taught more laws in police academy than in law schools because they are empowered to take people’s freedom,” the chief said.

Before they are assigned beats, recruits are attached to a car with a training officer for 14 weeks to “properly learn the ropes,” Rodbell said.

Despite their border with Mexico and presence of night clubs and casinos, crime rates are very low. The city has an average of 49, 000 drunk tickets per year.

Though, issue of illegal emigrants is in the top list in November 2, presidential election between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the police chief said they don’t arrest Mexicans who cross over to the state.

“We don’t arrest Mexicans who come to Arizona to see their kiths and kins. But if they come into our custody for whatever reason, we deal with them,” he said.

The city has a silent witness system, where citizens can anonymously volunteer information useful to the police and get cash rewards.