Joy Anyim
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, has called on residents of the state to corporate with the police in fighting crime and criminality in the state.
CP Muazu made this call at a community interactive session held at the Area J Command, Lekki Peninsula, Elemoro, on Wednesday, where he enumerated the many benefits of community policing .
He started that effective community policing, as is been canvassed in the country, can only work where there is police and community partnership.
According to Muazu, “ Let the people take ownership of security issues around them. Let people partner with the security agencies to ensure that they have a very safe and secure environment, so that they will not only have their eyes closed but will also go about their business unmolested by criminals.
“Every agency of government has specific role to play under community policing according to their mandates, as contained in the laws establishing the agencies.So also security agencies under community policing will not only be seen to be working together but must work together.
“Effective community policing could be achieved through the partnership of residents in the various communities. A partnership that involves participation of every stakeholder. Henceforth, the people will decide the security structure, while the police will only execute.
“Functional partnership is key to ensuring that the neighbourhoods are safe especially at night. Community policing is both proactive and reactive as it depends largely on the intelligence to prevent crime.
“We want neighbourhoods to take interest in this. I don’t want complaints of robberies anymore. Although my men cannot cover everywhere, you can help by giving my men the right direction.’’
Speaking further on the issue of trust which is an ingredient for community policing to thrive, Muazu said, “ Some people have ‘given up’ on the police because of lack of trust, and we are out to build that trust seeing that many things have gone wrong, but I want you to give us a chance to bring back that trust. I appeal to you to have confidence in the police.”
The Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the Area J command, ACP Gbolahan Olugbemi charged those within the community to be supportive of the command in crime fighting.
Olugbemi said, “The Police cannot do it alone, we want the community to assist us in doing our job because there is this tendency for crime to grow too. Notwithstanding, we have fought violent crimes such as armed robberies, kidnapping, communal clashes, burglary and stealing, land grabbing, to a standstill.”
The Director for West Africa Ford Foundation, Innocent Chukwuma, who was a guest at the meeting, presented a paper he titled: A Panacea to Crime Prevention and Social-Economic Development and Community Policing.
He described community policing as a vital strategy to fight crime as well as advocated more funding for the police.