Enugu begins community policing, trains 43

By Stanley Nwanosike

No fewer than 43 officers of the Enugu State Police Command are currently undergoing a two-day training on community policing in Enugu.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the officers were drawn from the command’s 38 Police Divisions and five Area Commands.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ebere Amaraizu, in an address during the training on Friday, said that it would enhance security at the grassroots.

Amaraizu said that the training would also help the officers imbibe democratic norms in the community policing principles of ensuring safety and security of the state.

Mr George Maduka, a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police and lead facilitator of the training, said that the focal areas included good relationship between police and other policing actors or stakeholders.

Maduka, who is also the Nigeria Policing Advisor, said:“The officers will be role models and change agents of the police in the various communities, to engender satisfactory policing service to these communities.

In his remark, Mr Solomon Akpanufot, the Team Leader, Nigeria Policing Programme (NPP) in Enugu State, said that the programme would continue to support national policing to respond to local or community policing needs.

“Enugu State is one of the four pilot states in the country for the NPP programme, which is centred on community policing,’’ Akpanufot said.

NAN reports that NPP is a security programme being funded by the British High Commission in Nigeria.

The training is being organised by the Enugu State Police Command in collaboration with NPP.