Comrade Umukoro Harps On Community Policing

By Daniel Dafe

President, Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, Youthwing, Worldwide and Member representing Youths in the State Community Policing Committee (SCPC), Delta State Command, Comr. (Dr) Kelly Efemena Umukoro, has said that community policing is an important arrangement needed to tackle crime and criminality in the state.

Comrade Umukoro who was the Keynote Speaker during the unveiling of new kits Identification Cards and patrons for the Anticult Volunteer Corps, AVC, Delta State Command, which held at Asaba, added that the importance of community policing cannot be overemphasized.

Delivering his lecture on community policing, the youth leader said stakeholders must partner with the police to tackle insecurity in their areas by volunteering useful information and providing vehicles and other logistics to make their work easy.

“Community policing is the act of a strategy of policing that focuses on developing relationships with community members and giving them a sense of belonging by partnering with the police to secure their neighborhood. In ensuring this, trust and mutual respect for the people and their culture and tradition are highly needed from the police,” he stressed.

He continued: “The issue of security is everybody’s business. The Police cannot do it alone. All over the world, crime fighting is a collective one hence the need for inter-agency cooperation and collaboration.”

Furthermore, he emphasized the need for mutual respect between stakeholders, the government and the police, saying this will further promote trust and oneness.

Meanwhile, he urged AVC members to know and identify the types of crimes prevalent in their immediate community, noting that community policing makes the police and the local communities operate as friends, just as he called on all community stakeholders to support the police and security agencies in nipping any form of crime before it takes place.

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Comrade Umukoro also commended the Delta State Police Command for its understanding of the importance of community policing which he said has been demonstrated overtime.

He recalled how during the ENDSARS protest in Abraka, community leaders and youths protected the police station from getting burnt down because of the existing friendship before the protest.

Umukoro  however advised the police to always ensure that the identities of local informants and whistleblowers are protected to sustain information gathering and better working of the community policing system which has been of great benefit to the country.

Appreciating the Anticult group for ensuring a violent cult free society, he encouraged them to continue to work in line with the law and ensure total professionalism in carrying out their task, while admonishing them to remain nonpartisan and avoid sentiment when carrying out their duties.

Highlight of the event was the unveiling of the new Anticult uniform and ID card by the Commissioner of Police, Delta State CP Ari Mohammed Ali and the official handing over of a new Sienna Patrol Van to the president of the group.

He used the opportunity to congratulate the president of AVC in the state, Comrade Uche James Nwahandi on his feat so far and prayed for God to continue to give him the wisdom to guide the affairs of the body in the state.