The Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has said that the Nigeria Police Force is deploying technology in virtually all areas of its operations in tackling new waves of banditry and kidnapping in the country.
According to him, the Marine unit had been reactivated, the crime section digitalised, drones have been acquired while the Technical Intelligent Unit is fully functional to cope with new trends in crime and criminality.
“So we must work with time modernity and therefore one of our cardinal principles in the job now is to train and retrain ourselves. So training is the cardinal point of our administration.
The IGP, who is in Akwa Ibom State for the inauguration of the Special Protection Unit Base in Onna Local Government Area of the state, disclosed this while addressing officers and men of the State Command, Ikot Akpana-Abia, Uyo on Wednesday.
He said the Nigeria Police must work with time and modernity to contain the ever dynamic crime waves adding that training and retraining had been the cardinal point of the present administration.
According to him, “Crime and criminality is a dynamic thing; it is not something that is static. It moves with time, it moves with modernisation, it moves with technology.
“Nobody has ever told us that human beings can be stolen, now we see human beings being stolen and taken away and they’re asking you to bring money.
“That is a new crime which is called kidnapping. We know of armed robbery and now we started hearing of armed banditry.
We just started training our 10,000 recruits effective last Monday and we have been able to change the curriculum to reflect modernism.
“Since we came we have gotten a lot, we have just been given 200 brand new pick up vehicles that are very strong, by the Police Trust Fund. We have made our Airwings very effective, we are proud of putting six helicopters in the air at one time.
“Our Marine segment has been reactivated,our Technical Intelligent Unit is working. We have acquired drones,we have digitalised our crime section. We have involved a lot of technology in our works” The IGP said.
He encouraged police officers to constantly educate themselves by reading and listening to the news on television in order to acquaint themselves with the latest happenings in society.
Baba, however, lamented that before the launching of Operation Restore Peace to the South East, the secessionists had demoralised the workforce with unprovoked attacks and killings, adding that the force is working tirelessly to equip itself with tools to aid operations.
Copyright PUNCH.
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