SILEA, Hastings, Wednesday 28 July, 2021- The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr Ambrose Michael Sovula, has launched a Training of Trainers (TOT), today, with thirty five (35) Senior Police personnel benefiting.
Addressing the launching ceremony, the IGP disclosed that when he took over the leadership of the Sierra Leone Police (SLP), he teamed up with some professionals to give an in-depth look into the operations of the force to come up with a roadmap for activities during his regime, stating that with this strategy, he was able to discover that there was a knowledge gap and personnel welfare deficit with in the rank and file of SLP.
“I, therefore, chose to tie my activity theme to welfare driven and training reintroduction, so as to serve as a base of transforming the SLP,” he revealed.
The Training of Trainers, Dr Sovula maintained, did not come by mistake or magic but that it’s designed out of his research.
He, however, clarified that the knowledge gap and personnel welfare deficit was not the fault of his predecessors but institutional behaviour in the country as it is like in any other country in the sub-region.
Police activities, he noted, are not only dynamic but are second to none in terms of service delivery, but said that better policing comes with training, the more reason he believes that if the SLP invested in training, it would be in tandem with President Bio’s vision for human capital development to inevitably yield quality service delivery as the public expects.
The IGP recalled how few weeks ago his management sent 10 Personnel to Nigeria for training, and reiterated the need for more capacity building through trainers’ training in order to enable the SLP train its members.
Dr Sovula appreciated the efforts of the training team headed by Professor M Y Bangura.
Remarking, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Elizabeth A Turay, stated that the TOT was to capacitate some men and women, most of whom are trainers at the SILEA, including few others from specialized areas like the Family Support Unit (FSU) and the Operational Support Division (OSD).
The TOT, she went on, is to revamp the police Academy by capacitating the trainers, and expressed optimism, therefore, that at the end of the training, beneficiaries would have been endowed with the required skills and experience in training others.
“The capacity is not just to benefit individuals but to get the police in a better position for quality service delivery,” the DIG averred.
Head of the training team, Professor M Y Bangura, said the training aims at supporting the police to forge ahead, adding that after the TOT, they will embark on short courses, including Senior Leadership and Management, Retirement Planning, Asset Management and Project Planning, among others.
The team, he said, will continue with the training after every two weeks.
© Kembay
