Magburaka Division, Kholifa Rowala Chiefdom, Tonkolili District and North-East Regional Headquarters, Makeni, Bombali District, Saturday 4th March, 2023- In his reformation messages to personnel across the country, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mr. William Fayia Sellu has reached out to the Magburaka Division, Mena Division and the North East Regional Headquarters in Makeni, calling on them to be professional in the conduct of their responsibilities.
The IGP who did not only go through the various ranks but serve in different capacities including close protection, Local Unit Commander (LUC) head of Complaint Discipline and Internal Investigations Department (CDIID), Regional Commander and Director of Crime Services among others before attaining the highest office in the SLP, laid it bare in his address, the challenges and causes of unprofessionalism which over the years has caused the police loss of trust from members of the public.
In his rebranding message, IGP Sellu stated that they are police because they voluntarily chose to be and are paid from taxpayers’ money, therefore must serve under all circumstances, stressing that they should not waiver in their services. He and some others he said have been through difficult and worst times but never bothered about it.
As officers how they talk to people he said is very important, noting that people come to police to seek redress or justice. Mr Sellu went on to state that police stations are not for transactions but for service delivery thus frown at delay in investigations and files.
“If not for any reason, always remember that you are not alone in this job that whatever you do affect all of us either directly or indirectly. That is the more reason you have to be very professional in doing the job” said the Police Chief, noting that they came from different homes, different parents with different backgrounds but are carrying one name (Police), thus he urged that if they begin to think that way, that whatever you do as individual affect the image of the organisation, they would definitely regulate their conducts properly.
He continued that as police, they regulate the conducts of the public but also need to be regulated otherwise they will over do things, thus the CDIID.
The golden rule of life he said is to treat people the way you want to be treated.
“Ask yourself, what do I want to happen to me when I should have left this job, how am I going to be treated by members of the public when I should have left this job” said IGP Sellu stating that if they want to begin thinking in such away “when you get to your office, just remove your uniform hang it on the wall and look at yourself outside that uniform” he said.
He pointed out that they have seen senior police officers who cannot come to stations after retiring from the job because of their conducts during active service.
They all have their own task in the SLP, as senior officers they just provide supervision role and strategic direction but the junior officers otherwise known as the foot soldiers, who do the job are the representatives of the organisation.
“We talk to you for you to know that what you do on a daily basis has great impact on the image of this organisation. When we talk to you, we are not crying you down, we equally owe you a responsibility to point out your weaknesses and if you are clever enough, you can correct it from there” the Chief police said.
As we approach elections, he called on the community relations department to step out, engage traditional leaders, go to communities, and hold community meetings with the Local Policing Partnership Board (LPPB).
The SLP he said is on record to have policed several elections that ended peaceful for which the June 24 2023 should not be an exception. The role of Police he emphasised is to provide security for the process and nothing else. He therefore called on them to be neutral, maintain honesty, trust and sincerity in their conducts.
The SLP he went on to say has instituted a zero tolerance drive to drugs, disclosing that they have received 3000 on the spot drugs test kits from the United Nations Drugs Control Office (UNDCO).
He warned them to stay off drugs or risk losing their job. He encouraged them to be united and work as a team, frowning at selfishness, backbiting and gossip
