Senate to provide legal backing for community policing

The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday, said it would provide legal backing for the proposed community policing in the country.

This was revealed by the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, after the Senate met with the Inspector General of Police, where he answered questions on the proposed community policing initiative of the Federal Government.

The initiative is expected to involve governors and traditional institutions and groups in the provision of security.

Speaking on the outcome of the meeting with the IG, Lawan, also confirmed that the Senate agreed to formulate a legislative initiative that would legalise the implementation of the community policing to tackle insecurity.

He said: “The IG answered questions bordering on national security challenges, banditry, and assaults on our major roads across the country.

“The Senate thereafter resolved to support the Nigeria Police through legislative interventions.

“The police force must find a way to be more operationally proactive to protect the lives of the citizens.”

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The IG, while speaking with journalists after the meeting, said the police was convinced that they need to involve the states, local governments and traditional institutions to tackle the menace.

He said: “I appeared before the Senate and briefed them on the concept of community policing.

“Let the community take the initiative in identifying the problems that are there that can lead to the commission of crime and then we work with the community to solve the crime.

“Taking policing back to the community will help in reducing crime to the barest minimum.

“So, I have explained the concept of community policing to the Senate which involves partnership with communities and there are various communities.

“You can have traditional institutions as a community. You can have the National Union of Road Transport Workers as a community.

“If you are talking about partnership we are talking about problem solving.

“We need to solve problems that evolve in the community.

“What we mean here is that we scan the community to find out what are the indices that can lead to the commission of crime or a crime that has been committed already.”

The IG also noted that security issues were not supposed to be rigid but dynamic in line with international best practices.

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