The Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, says the Nigeria Police Force will establish a Quick Intervention Squad to tackle the menace of crimes and criminality in the country.

Egbetokun made this known during his inaugural conference with Strategic Police Managers, consisting of officers from the rank of Commissioners of Police and above in Abuja on Friday.

The IGP said: “The Nigeria Police Force under my command, in its quest to stamp out violent crimes and their detrimental and debilitating effects on the security and safety of our society, will forge ahead to tackle the menace of crimes and criminality head on.

“This will be done with the establishment of a specialised Quick Intervention Squad which will comprise combat-ready Police Mobile Force personnel with effective and enhanced training in crisis de-escalation and violent crime reduction strategies.

“This will lead to a review of the engagement patterns of the Police Mobile Force in a bid to restore the days of glory of the Police Mobile Force as a punching arm of the police.”

He said his administration would embrace innovation and technology as powerful allies in the fight against crime.

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According to him, the world is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and so the Nigeria Police should adapt to the evolving landscape of crime.

Egbetokun said criminals were presently more sophisticated, more organised, and more ruthless than ever before, adding that the police would leverage cutting-edge tools, data analytics, and intelligence networks to stay one step ahead of the criminals, seeking to disrupt the peace of the country.

The IGP said this would be achieved through a robust and effective human and technical intelligence gathering process to enhance the capacity of personnel.

He stressed that his administration would also prioritise the enhancement of the NPF training curriculum with a special focus on attitudinal and behavioural changes for new recruits and a reorientation programme for serving officers.

The police boss said the idea was to further refine the perception of officers to concepts of human rights, rule of law, and citizen-focused policing.

Egbetokun said the new training curriculum would be produced with inbuilt tests, designed to weed out individuals with negative mentality and high tendency for violence from recruits.

The I-G said his administration would also make a case for improved welfare for officers to ensure the availability of resources, training, and support necessary to carry out their duties professionally.

“To this end, my administration will intensify collaboration with relevant stakeholders for the resuscitation of the Police Officer Support Unit (POSU) of the Police Medical services.

“This will serve as a confidential support and counseling facility for all police officers,” he said.

The Star