Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State on Friday inaugurated the 272 special constables recruited for the community policing programme in the state.
Ugwuanyi said that the officers were recruited from the Neighborhood Watch Association and Forest Guards in the 17 local government areas of the state.
He said that 16 of the Community Policing Officers (CPOs) were recruited each from the local councils in the state.
He said that the officers would be deployed to their wards and local government areas to assist in gathering and sharing of intelligence with the security agencies in the state.
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The governor solicited the support of members of the public for the officers to enable them succeed.
Earlier, the Chairman of Enugu State Community Policing Advisory Committee (SCPAC), and Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Aliyu, said that the event was a watershed in the community policing project in the state.
Aliyu charged the officers to discharge their duties in the best professional way, adding that their duties also included the arrest of criminals and other law offenders in their various localities.
He said that the CPOs were also meant to detect crimes; settle low-level civil disputes and petty crimes, and complement the conventional Police in the patrol of the public spaces within their local communities.
He said that the officers were also meant to work with the young people, business communities, religious bodies, cultural groups and assist in traffic management and school safety duties.
Recall that the governor had on July 9, 2020, inaugurated the SCPAC as a necessary committee for the actualisation of the community policing programme, an initiative of the Nigeria Police Force.