Police deployment requested in Southeast Liberia

A workshop participant in Barclayville, Grand Kru County has appealed to government for the deployment of more police officers in southeast Liberia, complaining that there are lot of cases that need police intervention, but suspects sometimes escape due to low level of police presence.

“Our Director of Police needs to put some measures in place to address these concerns because these are matters that concern the well being of citizens. Everything don’t necessarily have to be done in Monrovia”, Mr. Jacob Tarpeh
Said on Saturday, 27 May in an interview with this paper.

He told this paper at a one – day stakeholder consultative workshop over the weekend, Mr. Jacob Tarpeh suggested that more police intervention is needed in the region.

He appealed that government should prioritize the deployment of more police officers in Grand Kru, Sinoe, Maryland and River Gee Counties to enable them deal with incidents effectively as soon as they occur.

Mr. Tarpeh was interviewed after participating in a consultative dialogue in Barclayville, organized by the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA in collaboration with the Golden Veroleum Liberia or GVL ahead of cultivating a 6,496 hectare of land in Trembo and Barclayville Statutory Districts by the company.

The interactive meeting was held for the cultivation of 6.496 hectares of land where GVL seeks to expand its palm oil plantation. It brought together representatives from line ministries and agencies here including citizens of Barclayville, especially those from districts that will be affected by the operation of the company.

According to Mr. Tarpeh, on many occasions incidents occur but they are not captured by police. He expressed frustration over the situation, claiming that in places where police are deployed, it takes some two hours for residents to get to them to register their cases.

He narrated further that there is a rape incident that took place in a nearby district, but alleged that before the matter could reach the police to have the perpetrator arrested, the alleged suspect had escaped from the crime scene. Having cited the rape case, Mr. Tarpeh expressed belief that the deployment of police in the region will help to put things under control.

Citizens of Kutuken District of Barclayville, Grand Kru County have expressed serious frustration over development in their county. Meanwhile, some citizens have expressed disenchantment about the alleged lack of development in the Kutuken District of Barclayville. There claims of the alleged lack of busy social services by concession companies in the district and the county at large.

Speaking to this paper over the weekend Mr. James Doe said in an angry tone that in his district, there is the lack of safe drinking water, proper health care, lack of quality education and lack of police presence, among others.
By Lewis S. Teh-Edited by Winston W. Parley