Sierra Leone

Freetown, Sierra Leone – The Sierra Leone Police (SLP) in collaboration with the United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) and the Justice Sector Development Programme (JSDP) is hosting a workshop for the Local Policing Partnership Board (LPPB) in Sierra Leone, at the Police Training School in Hastings, Freetown, from the 29th to 30th March 2007.The theme for the workshop is “Mobilizing the Community for Effective Policing in Sierra Leone”^.

The objectives of the workshop include raising awareness on the importance of community policing skills in the 2007 National Elections, introducing and endorsing the LPPB constitution and educating stakeholders on community partnership. Plenary sessions will delve into the Police and Community as Partners in Law Enforcement and Public Expectations of the Police in Promoting Peace and Development in Sierra Leone. A Guidelines and Codes of Conduct document for the operation of the LPPB which has been developed will also be discussed.

Participants in the workshop, numbering two hundred and fifty, would include representatives from the Office of National Security (ONS), the press, the National Union of Sierra Leone Students (NUSS), the Drivers Union the Bankers Forum, Insurance Companies, Civil Society Organizations and Petty Traders Association.

The numerical strength of the Sierra Leone Police in terms of coverage is smaller compared to the fast growing population. Therefore the collaboration between the SLP and the civil population is part of the Force’s much-needed restructuring process which has emerged in the form of the nationwide Local Policing Partnership Board. The LPPB has a key role in ensuring the provision of a fully effective police service which will enjoy the support of all sections of the community. In every district the LPPB is a non-partisan inter-religious group which desires to create a peaceful and healthy police/community rapport all levels.

Its main responsibilities are to monitor the performance of the police, to act as a general forum for discussion and consultation on matters affecting policing, and to enhance the cooperation between the public and the police for crime prevention.

“Since the formation of these boards nationwide ,a bond of friendship, trust and respect between the Police and the community has been established ;a ‘Force for Good’ capable of attracting and sustaining support from the community as a whole must be at the heart of policing in Sierra Leone”, stressed Mr. Kalia Sesay, JSDP Local Needs Policing Adviser.

The Justice Sector Development Programme (JSDP) is a Government of Sierra Leone initiative, funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and managed by the British Council. It is a five-year programme that started in March 2005 and operates in Freetown and the Moyamba District for the initial two-year phase.

The primary objective of the programme is to improve safety, security and access to justice for the people of Sierra Leone, particularly the poor, vulnerable and marginalized. JSDP is located at the British Council on Tower Hill in Freetown, Sierra Leone.