By Jefferson Tenge & Lloydson G .Flomo
MONROVIA, June 30 (LINA) – The Director of the Community Service Section of the Liberia National Police (LNP), Samuel G. Ford, has underscored that Security Sector Reform (SSR) is cardinal to the growth and development of the country.
Ford said it is very important for LNP officers and community dwellers to work collaboratively in transforming the security sector, adding that crimes are always committed in the communities and they are the direct victims of the crimes.
According to Ford, one of the ways to fight against crimes in the country is to have community security relationship with the community dwellers in fighting crimes in the country.
The LNP official was speaking at an SSR dialogue held at the University of Liberia main campus on Capitol Hill recently.
Ford said the security sector reform plays a key role in the growth and development of the political dispensation of any nation.
He disclosed that the LNP has been able to train over 30,000 community police around the country to help in keeping the peace and stability of the state since 2004, adding that the cooperation between the LNP and the community dwellers is very cohesive.
The Director said a testament to the work of community policing in the country was the gathering of community leaders from across Montserrado County before the June 7 protest assembly at the Samuel K. Doe Stadium in Paynesville outside Monrovia to strengthen the relationship and foster a way forward in combating crimes.
« We cannot do it alone, we need the community to be able to fight crimes, share information when it comes to criminal activities in various parts of the country,” Ford said, stressing that “if the LNP is well equipped, it makes it easier to fight crimes in the country.”
He also called on security institutions of Liberia to cooperate in resolving some challenges that the security sector is faced with.
Ford indicated that the consumption of illicit drugs is one of the key issues that is hampering the security sector and the development and growth of the country, indicating that if people are taking in drugs crimes will always be on the increase.
»We need to reform ourselves as an institution to improve the image of the security sector,” he cited.
LNP JT/LGF/WSG/PTK
