Nigeria Police Force has held a three-day forensic awareness course on basic crime scene management for its Public Relations Officers (PROs) at the Police Academy in Wudil, Kano State.
Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Aremu Adeniran, who represented Force spokesman, Frank Mba, said the training was sponsored by GIZ German government development cooperation for police spokespersons in the zones, commands and formations of 19 northern states.
Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police, Sadiq Abubakar Bello, who declared the occasion open on behalf of the Inspector General (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, said the course seeks to equip the participants with skills necessary for effective descriptive analytical and strategic communication methods touching on criminal investigation.
“This will enable them to acquire relevant skills to give appropriate responses to citizens and media enquiries into matters of forensic and evidential nature connected to criminal investigations.
“It is hoped that the three days course will, amongst other benefits, impact police spokespersons positively, particularly in the areas of strategic communication and crime scene management.
“Participants of this course must be reminded that to succeed as police image makers they must be versatile and have deep theoretical and practical knowledge of all aspects of policing covering administration, operations, investigations, and forensics amongst others. Therefore, the quest for resourcefulness remains an integral part of the objective of this course,” Bello said.
He urged the participating police image makers to take advantage of the opportunities the course presents, to interact, cross fertilise ideas and broaden their skills, especially in responding to crime incidents and to fit into the demanding task of information management and public engagement for the force.
He assured that the police, under the leadership of Usman Alkali Baba, remains committed to “well-thought-out and goal driven partnership and collaborations, with progressive and positive minded organisations, such as the GIZ, targeted at enhancing professional and operational capacity of the force.”
He said “the force would sustain relationships and open new areas of collaborations, touching on capacities on criminal investigations, respect for human rights, access to justice for citizens, improved transparency and accountability in policing actions and other deliberate efforts aimed at strengthening citizens’ complainant response system.”
Head of Component, Gertjan de Gruijter, said the programme (G1Z) is to build and strengthen police structures in selected partner countries in Africa, including Nigeria. The exercise for the south was done in Lagos, recently. Gruijter explained that the Country Component Nigeria (G1Z PPA) is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office (AA) and implemented through Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
