Community policing is the answer to effective policing in Nigeria

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Community policing has been described as the best form of policing that can get results in safety and situations in Nigeria.
This was asserted to by no other person than the deputy state chairman Ogun State PCRC (Police Community Relations Committee) and the chairman Sagamu Area Command of the PCRC,pastor M.Lawson at the inauguration of honorary members, patrons and matrons of the Sagamu police Area command PCRC in Ogun State.
He said the P.C.R.C which was founded in 1984 has been able to change the face of policing through concise intelligence gathering in partnership with the populace and also through organising seminars, sensitization workshops,mobilization of members across the 11 (eleven) police divisions in Sagamu Area Command for dissemination of information from the Area command to the divisions and to the units and at the same time from the units to the divisions and back to the area command, the area Commander on his own has been having regular meetings with the D.P.O’s just the same way we have been having regular interaction with our people.
He also said that the Ogun State PCRC has been adjudged as the best in Nigeria because of the caliber of people that populate the executive and the effective results that has been churned out and the less crime rate that has been witnessed across Ogun State.
At the inauguration which was held held at the headquarters of the Sagamu police area command in Sagamu Ogun State, notable personalities from the society were inducted into the PCRC as honourary members, patrons and matrons such as Alhaji Inuwa Seriki the chairman of the Hausawa community in Sagamu,the leader of the Igbo community, the OLU of Imushin Oba Taiwo Bamgbose,D.P.O Redeemed police division, D.P.O Mowe police division, D.P.O Ibafo police division and so many others too numerous to mention.
Also speaking at the event the OLU of Imushin Oba Taiwo bamgbose said that for the proactive measures and approach put in place in his community has raised the tempo of security through the help of the PCRC.
Continuing he said that when his community was recently attacked by the Niger Delta militants,the PCRC was able to send information across to all the security agents and normalcy was restored there.
He also commended the governor of Ogun State senator Ibikunle Amosun FCA for putting a tight security in place in the community, he said currently the JTF,police, VSO and several other security agents has been stationed in his community.
The deputy national chairperson, South of the PCRC Chief Mrs Adesola Adebutu Kessington thanked the people for turning out in their large numbers to witness the inauguration and for also making security business paramount in their lives.
In a related development, the PCRC Onipanu division Ota,Ogun State has held a launching and fundraiser for the building of a PCRC secretariat building at the Onipanu police divisional headquarters Ota,Ogun State.
In an address by the chairman PCRC Onipanu division Ota,Ogun State CSP (Rtd) Alhaji S.Ola Ogungbe, he said the police community relations committee was primarily established in 1984 with the aims of effectively mobilizing the public and private sectors of the economy to support effective discharge of the statutory duties of the Nigeria police across the Nation, in other words partnering with the police to ensure a secured environment.
Accordingly, PCRC is being described as an integral part of the Nigeria police.
PCRC Onipanu division, one of the youngest division in Ota Area/Ogun State command was inaugurated on 23rd February 2010 and CSP Jacob B.Olaoye Ogbara now Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACPOL) was the pioneer D.P.O.
The PCRC maiden executive committee was led by Chief Seyi Akinbiyi-Ojo,now baale of Ipetu-Idiata situated in Onipanu division Ota,the executive did its best to promote, maintain and sustain PCRC at all levels of administrations.
Over the years,as it is characteristics of the police administrations,several DPO’s has served Onipanu division and PCRC had excellent relationship with each and everyone of them during their respective tenure of office as DPO.
On membership drive, the Ogun State PCRC Exco has been organising seminars, lectures and workshops across the state,to educate,inform and invite people from all fields of endeavors to join PCRC at their respective locations and collectively partnering with the police to ensure a relatively secured environment.
The most recent organized one day workshop for the Ogun State Alternative Medicine Practitioners and the theme of the workshop was” effective policing:-Role of traditional medicine practitioners “.
Speaking on the PCRC secretariat project,the chairman said the PCRC Onipanu division, being relatively young is just less than 7 years old,from inception, we started without a permanent site,hence the need for a permanent site for the Secretariat within the police station premises became necessary from day one.
The maiden exco was renting canopies for meetings and often times had to hold exco meetings outside the police station.
All the while efforts were being made with a view to having a permanent secretariat that includes a befitting hall,conveniences,furniture and other facilities necessary for a modern functional PCRC secretariat, unfortunately due to financial constraint this was not feasible during the last PCRC administration, in short that was the situation that prompted the current Exco into launching the fundraising for the secretariat building.
Buttressing the points further, the host DPO,CSP Muyideen Obe said community policing has become the globally accepted form of policing, no police officer can achieve anything without bringing closer the members of the community,” there’s no community-there’s no policing “,while accepting community policing as the global best practices, we are working hand in hand with the members of the community because the relationship and collaborations has made the police to be on top of the safety and security situations across the Federation and the area of responsibility.

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