12 Police Officers End Intensive Training in England
Photo Credit: IT/Public Affairs Bureau- MFA
Twelve officers from the Liberian National Police Force on May 21, 2009, completed, with high commendation, an intensive leadership training course at the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) at Bramshill, Hampshire, England.
In recognition of the Liberian officers’ outstanding accomplishment, the Head of the International Academy of the NPIA, Mr. Kurt Eyre, proffered a special dinner in their honour to which Liberia’s Ambassador to the Court of Saint James’, H.E. Wesley M. Johnson, was invited.
Mr. Eyre congratulated the officers for their studious efforts which had ensured their unquestionable success. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Eyre paid tribute to their towering level of commitment to exceed beyond the ordinary or average expectation and thereby restore the once-instituted pride and dignity to the Liberian National Police Force.
For his part, Liberia Ambassador Extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Court of Saint James, Mr. Wesley M. Johnson commended the officers for their exceptional achievement and the profound degree of integrity their accomplishment at the National Policing Improvement Agency will afford the enrolment of succeeding Liberians at the Institution.
In reiterating the praise of the Head of the International Academy for the officers’ diligence to their duty, Ambassador Johnson also admonished the officers to make a difference in the discharge of their duties upon their return home.
Emphasizing the need in our country for the presence of police ethics through the rule of law, Ambassador Johnson cautioned the graduates to ensure their functions characterize the policing training, which incorporate as its hallmark, the respect for human rights and the enforcement of the law without fear or favour.
Citing the golden rule of law which forms the cornerstone of our legal system that an accused is presumed innocent until proved guilty, Ambassador Johnson expressed the confidence that the officers would honour their insignia. He further asserted that with the example of the honoured officers, police brutality or the use of excess force in conducting arrests would be a thing of the past.
In conclusion, Ambassador Johnson expressed, on behalf of the Government of Liberia, appreciation for the Agency’s assistance in providing training of the twelve Liberian Police officers. He further conveyed Government’s gratitude to the NPIA for its plans for further training in the United Kingdom of officers from the Liberian National Police Force.
In a noteworthy development, Ambassador Johnson was awarded a plaque honouring Liberia’s association with the National Policing Improvement Agency and in recognition of his support of the Liberian officers.
It should be noted that the twelve officers had been identified as potential leaders of the future for the Liberian National Police Force through the auspices of the United Nations Policing Advisors based in Monrovia and were thus enrolled at the British Police Academy for further training.
The officers’ education at the Academy covered a wide range of topics including communications, leadership, strategy and change, ethics and diversity, community policing, command and control and performance management.
Taken on field trips to observe the operation of law enforcement agencies in various parts of the country, the officers, in their capacity as trainees, were exposed to an array of police strategies to ensure the maintenance of law and order, from dealing with traffic accidents to conducting drug raids.
Being attached in pairs to Police Forces around the United Kingdom afforded them the opportunity to observe at first-hand their British counterpart interaction with the communities while gaining the experience of police work in the field.
The officers consisting of ten men and two women were the second group of 12 Liberian police officers sponsored by the United Nations Mission in Liberia to have received training at the National Policing Improvement Agency at Bramshill, England.