Police issuance of clearances questioned

Liberia’s Police Inspector General Col. Patrick Sudue says police have documents in the system that are issued based on collusion and some people get police clearances without being properly vetted because of the poor record system the Liberia National Police (LNP) has.

He said his administration will try to find means to build an archive so that the police can have a better record system. “So we’ll try to find means to build an archive here that we’ll have a better record system. So we’re also trying to build a database so that we will be able to do criminal profiling which will help us to … give the right people police clearance,” Col. Sudue told a police assembly at LNP Headquarters Monday, 2 April in Monrovia.

Col. Sudue says he wants people to be properly vetted so that they can be given genuine police clearance, in an effort to improve on a poor record system that allowed some people to obtain police clearances without being properly vetted.

“We are not saying it’s not genuine, what we’re giving now! But we need some upgrading. So I thank you all, let us work together,” he adds.

For the police record division, Mr. Sudue says right now “we’re” … trying to do a project proposal to ensure that a building is erected at the police headquarters to build the archive in question.

According to Col. Sudue, it will be the first of its kind in the Republic of Liberia to have such a police archive.

At the same time Col. Sudue has pleaded with officers at the assembly to be united and treat each other as brothers and sisters.

Presenting the new police administration along with senior officers that he recently elevated in a reshuffle he carried out, Mr. Sudue assured the police force that officers’ welfare is one of his top priorities.

Mr. Sudue says what he wants to develop within the LNP as of the date of the meeting is “one officer’s fall should be everybody’s fall.”

“If you hear [that] one officer [is] under attack, all Liberia National Police officers should be under attack,” he says.

Col. Sudue additionally announced that a police award program will be introduced to give medals to best performing officers of the week, month and year to award deserving officers.

He promises to do everything possible to speak with President George Manneh Weah to attend such event at the end of the year to give medals to deserving officers so that others can be motivated to be professional in their service. He has encouraged officers be professional and be able to form a part of the award winning program.

By Winston W. Parley