Community policing committee established in Borno

The Borno State Police command on Monday, August 24, 2020, initiated the Community Policing Committee.

This is coming barely a week after the Federal Government (FG) released N13 billion for the takeoff of the programme.

Lawan Ado, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (IGP) in charge of Zone 1, who took charge of the event held at the Police Headquarters in Maiduguri said the security scheme would reduce crime at the grassroots.

The committee with members from hunters, civilian Joint Task Force, Vigilante groups and members of the Civil Societies will also work hand in hand with traditional rulers to identify unscrupulous people in the society.

“Apart from the involvement of the conventional local security outfits, local women, traders, and community leaders too must buy into the new approach of crime prevention.

“The idea of community policing is to prevent crimes at the grassroots level, and this is going to be intelligence-driven. It is about a partnership with the community and collaboration with members of the society. This will give a long way to reducing crime and bringing about a new trend in policing,” he said.

Chairman of the Borno Police Community Relations Committee, Sanda Sheriff, said the inauguration of the committee was a milestone in the police-community relations in the state.

“This will bring relief to us and engender better cooperation between the police and members of the society. In the past, there has been distrust between the two,” he also added.