Former Police Commissioner wants check points replaced with motorised patrol.
A retired Commissioner of Police, Frank Odita wants the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to replace checkpoints with motorised patrols.
Odita told newsmen in Lagos, that checkpoints had never helped in crime prevention as policemen had converted them into toll gates.
He said checkpoints were not the best for the country’s image and that of the force.
According to him, it is better to return to foot and motorised patrols.
Odita said with checkpoints, criminals could easily predict areas where policemen were stationed, noting that it would be difficult to do so if policemen were on patrol.
``The truth is that there is nothing stopping police officers from searching; the policeman has a mandate to combat crime. if he reasonably suspects any vehicle that has criminal tendencies, he can stop the vehicle and search it,’’ he said.
Odita urged the state commissioners of police to release funds from the Inspector General’s office to the divisional police officers to enable them to improve their operations.
He lauded the Lagos State Government for its support to the police but urged it to extend the gesture beyond the special task force to the divisions and area commands for effective crime prevention and control.
No comments:
Post a Comment