By Francis Ogwo
As a measure of combating the menace of crime and related activities in Lagos State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday, inaugurated the Lagos State Community Policing Advisory Committee (SCPAC) and the State Community Policing Committee (SCPC).
According to the new set up by the government, the Advisory Committee which is headed by the State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu and Lagos State Council of Obas and Chiefs, Oba Rilwan Babatunde Osuolale Akiolu as co-Chairmen is highest level of oversight for community policing in the state.
Other members of the committee include heads of security agencies in the state; and the representative of the Police Community Relations Committee, Apostle Kehinde Sowemimo.
In the committees plan as stated by the governor, the SCPC, on the other hand, is vested with the responsibility of seeing to the effective coordination of state-level operations of the community policing programme, entrenching security awareness and monitoring the progress of community policing in the state.
Members of the SCPC include the representative of the State Commissioner of Police, Deputy Commissioner Etim Oqua Efiom; and the representative of the traditional institution, Oba Momodu Ashafa, including other members in the committee.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said the SCPAC Committee would assist the Nigeria Police in the identification, vetting and selection process of community police officers (CPOs) within their communities; help identify security threats in communities and work with the Police Force and the CPOs in evolving appropriate strategies for addressing them, as well as advise on general security issues as they affect their communities.
Part of the expected results of the Advisory Committee would be provision of feedback on community and police partnerships towards building mutual trust with an overall objective of guaranteed safety of the community.
The Governor stressed that security is a collective effort and not exclusive to uniformed personnel, adding that every citizen has a role to play in ensuring that the security architecture functions optimally.
“We want Lagos State to be a role model for the rest of the country, in terms of how community policing should function. We want to create an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence; one that engenders speedy resolution of issues as they arise,” he said.
He urged members of the two committees to fulfil the task before them with patriotism, integrity and diligence.
It would be recalled that there have been pockets of clashes between communities and security personnel around the state with issues around the safety of the community, remaining top on the priority of the state.
