Ladipo Sanusi/
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Imohimi Edgal, has urged local council chairmen to establish vigilance groups.
The police boss said this would enhance community-based policing being championed by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris.
Edgal stated this during a meeting with the residents of Area ‘C’ Police Command, held at the Eko Club, Surulere, on Monday.
Speaking on the theme: ‘Partnering with the community for crime prevention’, Edgal said the most effective form of policing is the one done in partnership with the concerned community, adding that this could be best achieved through collaboration between the police and the Local Governments Areas (LGA) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDA).
He therefore appealed to the chairmen of the LGAs and LCDAs to set up vigilance groups, whose members could be deployed in intelligence work as well as in patrol duties with the police in their respective neighbourhoods.
Apart from vigilance groups, Edgal said the state police command would also seek increased collaboration with members of the Neighborhood Watch, religious bodies, youth organisations and social groups “to ensure that Lagos is free from all forms of crime”.
He further stated: “We will also partner with the landlord associations, Community Development Associations (CDAs) and others to identify the security challenges in their communities. We are planing to identify the policing problems together with the community and jointly go ahead to tackle them. We also want the communities to organise their able-bodied men into vigilance groups, who will be working directly with the police.”
Edgal also encouraged residents to take advantage of the Citizens’ Complaint Centre to report unprofessional acts by any police officer against the public. He said complaints could lodged through any of the telephone numbers that had earlier been made public
The numbers include: 08067945296, 08063025274, 08063104759, 08113615350, 0811368307, 08096283148, 08096283173, 08089781657, 08126404930 and 08081426895.
The Commander in charge of Area ‘C’, ACP Wale Abass, said the town hall meeting was an initiative of the police commissioner aimed at enhancing the capacity of the police for Intelligence gathering and ensuring a more efficient policing.
Abass promised that the Area ‘C’ Command would continue to engage in “meaningful and proactive engagement” with the relevant stakeholders in the community, including the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), CDAs, vigilance groups, landlords, traditional rulers, religious bodies, political, business and youth leaders.
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