THE Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Olukayode Egbetokun, has disclosed that the Nigeria Police would establish a Quick Intervention Squad to tackle crimes and criminality in the country.
Egbetokun, speaking in Abuja during his inaugural conference with Strategic Police Managers, comprising officers from the rank of commissioners of Police and above, stated: “The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) under my command, in its quest to stamp out violent crimes and their detrimental and debilitating effects on security and safety of our society, will forge ahead to tackle the menace of crimes and criminality head on.
“This will be done with the establishment of a specialised Quick Intervention Squad, which will comprise combat-ready Police Mobile Force (PMF) personnel, with effective and enhanced training in crisis de-escalation and violent crime reduction strategies.
“This will lead to a review of the engagement patterns of the PMF in a bid to restore its days of glory as a punching arm of the Police.”
He stated that his administration would embrace innovation and technology as powerful allies in the fight against crime, saying the world is evolving at an unprecedented pace and so the Nigeria Police should adapt to the evolving landscape of crime.
Egbetokun said criminals were presently more sophisticated, more organised and more ruthless than ever before, adding that the Nigeria Police would leverage cutting-edge tools, data analytics and intelligence networks to stay one step ahead of the criminals seeking to disrupt the peace of the country.
This, he noted, would be achieved through a robust and effective human and technical intelligence gathering process to enhance the capacity of personnel, noting: “By harnessing the power of technology, we can make our streets safer, our investigations more efficient and our communities more resilient.
“We cannot afford to be reactive; we must be proactive in our approaches by equally collaborating with other security agencies, both domestic and international, to strengthen our intelligence network.”
He said his administration would also prioritise the enhancement of the Nigeria Police training curriculum, with special focus on attitudinal and behavioural changes for new recruits and re-orientation programme for serving officers, with the aim of further refining the perception of officers to concepts of human rights, rule of law and citizen-focused policing.
Egbetokun said the new training curriculum would be produced with inbuilt tests, designed to weed out individuals with negative mentality and high tendency for violence from recruits, saying his administration would also make a case for improved welfare for officers to ensure the availability of resources, trainings and support necessary to carry out their duties professionally.
“To this end, my administration will intensify collaboration with relevant stakeholders for the resuscitation of the Police Officer Support Unit (POSU) of the Police Medical services. This will serve as a confidential support and counselling facility for all police officers,” he added.
