Renewed Wave of Armed Robbery & Police Complacency

A few months ago when Police Director Chris Massaquoi announced that the rate of armed robbery had been reduced significantly by police, and that armed robbery had effectively become nothing to write home about, residents of Monrovia and its environs began to ‘breathe an air of relief’.

Of course, the enthusiasm which characterized the battle against armed robbery among the men and women of the Liberia National Police made the cordiality between community dwellers harmonious. This made the police-most especially the Emergency Response Unit or ERU and Police Support Unit or PSU very effective in approaching homes and other scenes of the crime.

Since then-mainly  following the imposition of the 10pm regulation on commercial motorcyclists, communities in Monrovia and those in its suburbs having been relatively sleeping “sound” without major incidences of armed robbery. Whatever strategies employed by the LNP to tremendously reduce crimes, including armed robbery, at least the physical impact was felt.

But of late, “things are again falling apart” as residents of the city and other municipalities continue to experience mental and physical tortures at the hands of undesirable and wicked men and women. Perhaps as a result of the high degree of complacency on the part of the police-ERU and PSU, armed robbers have again become uncompromisingly heartless in their attacks on peaceful citizens and residents

In recent times, the people Weaver Street/Town Hall, Pipeline, Robertsfield Highway, as well as Wood Camp Communities, among others in the Paynesville Municipality became victims of armed robbers, who did not only make away with thousands of United States and Liberian Dollars and valuables, but inflicted severe wounds their victims.

As it had been when the police initially began their rapid response to these attacks a few months ago, the ERU or PSU seems not even to be positively responding calls from community residents during armed robbery actions occurring between 12 and 3 am depending on the location. The police would answer telephone calls, but choose to delays. Whether or not there are strategies to keep criminals at bay, especially just a few days to Christmas Day, the hierarchy of the Liberia National Police is yet to make any public pronouncement- leaving peaceful Liberians at the mercy of armed robbers. Why this is so, is something the LNP authorities continue to remain very silent.

But while Police administration continued to be rocked by complacency and inconsistency to the detriment of Liberian community dwellers, armed robbery-threatened communities and neighborhoods must now begin to help themselves by networking, especially through telephone communication against this heinous crime. We must remember that helping to fight a fire on another neighbor’s house, is also helping to save ourselves from further disaster.