On 27th July, 2022, Sierra Leone got a new police chief, Mr. William Fayia Sellu on the signature of President Julius Maada Bio.
Mr. Sellu smoothly sailed through parliament owing to his huge police experience and top-notch performances in policing as he held administrative and operational positions throughout his career.
He led the Criminal Investigations Department, the Police Academy in Freetown, served as Local Unit Commander in several police divisions, led the Complaints, Discipline and Internal Investigation Department (CDIID), the disciplinary wing of the police, He was Assistant Inspector-General of Police in Charge of Crime Services and later Inspector-General of Police, a seat he currently meritoriously occupies.
His ascension to the top policing position is a testament of his hard work, dedication to national service and loyalty to country.
The vast majority of the police force, especially members of the crime-investigating family that includes the Criminal Investigation Department, Family Support Unit and the Integrated Intelligence Services, were pleased and elated for having such a seasoned and calculated police officer as their general commander that would lead them through tough and turbulent times.
He came at a time the country was gripped by a myriad of security crises characterized by lawlessness, disorders, threats of protest and demonstrations and most importantly, fear of crime.
Fear of crime, according to security experts, is potent and dangerous than real crime itself if not handled professionally.
In such a situation, the new IG is expected to rebrand the police service to get the trust and confidence of the people and to save the country from crime, disorder and instability and by all standards, he has prevailed.
Below is a chronology of the some of the key strategies this agile and security-sensitive top-notch Police Commander has employed in the course of these three years to ensure quality service delivery, safety and decorum of the state of Sierra Leone includes:
- Proper Management, Command and Control Structures and Face-lifting of Police Headquarters And Other Facilities
It is clear from the outset that the new Police Chief could not deliver quality service to the people of Sierra Leone by relying on the management, command and control structures he inherited.
What he did was to have the right men in their right places so that the right work could be done at the right time in the same way a coach bring in new players to change the tempo of a game to secure a winning.
At a very short time, some few transfers were made at various police regions and divisions and some adjustments were made at the high police command, and those transfers and adjustments have paid off.
Experienced police officers are now in charge of the police regions divisions and departments as Directors, Regional and Local Unit Commanders while the IG provides strategic direction, command and control.
It is worth asserting that the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) is a security force that is now stable and kept well afloat once the man with the right police knowledge and skills is in charge.
Getting the right structures is not the end, but getting an ideal workplace also matters. Currently, Police Headquarters, constructed in the 1970s, is getting a good facelift and additional offices where the official business or paper work of the police service will be carried out after it shall have been completed. Other police facilities are also seeing similar facelift.
In the near future, police officers will no longer cramp in tight places or two offices share office spaces as the three-floor building will be made four, a move that is welcomed by many.
- Public Order and Safety: It is clear that the immediate result of having the right men in the right places in any police agency is the absence of crime and disorder. Within a short time, such result has been delivered by the Police IG. Incidents of serious crimes, protests and demonstrations died down since he took command of the SLP. It is evidenced by the people’s high compliance with the law.
One such glaring testimony of law and order is the absence of commercial motor cycles on the Central Business district of Freetown since the ban was announced by the Police Chief.
The announcement of the ban was not meant to restrict movement of people or plying of trade by the bike riders but to ensure sanity in the city center and prevent frequent crashes and collisions.
The city is tight these days owing to the presence of many vehicles and pedestrians, and no doubt, bike riders pose a threat to the safety of the people.
Therefore, taking bike riders off the main streets and confine them to less busy ones by way of police ban is the best way to go to ensure a safe and orderly city.
Without any fear contradiction, the current ban is seen by many as the strongest and most complied with of all police bans in the past.
Close to a year after the announcement of the ban, it is still live and fresh, a measure of police effectiveness and efficiency.
- Adoption of Community Policing and Revival of Local Policing Partnership Boards to Combat Crime:
Having transformed the police by way of getting the right structures, the IG also deemed it fit to adopt community policing as the best way to go.
This style of policing is proactive and it meets the security needs expectations of communities which reflect overall national policing standards and objectives.
Several academic and policy papers on community have provided sound argument that community policing is the best of all policing models especially for societies emerging from conflicts.
It is a tactic practiced in various parts of the world including African countries particularly Botswana, a country that is offering one of the best police services to its people.
This style of policing brings police service to the people’s doorsteps as the police seek the views of community stakeholders in a consultative and interactive fashion regarding the type of crime prevention strategies they need in their communities.
Such consultation is based on the notion that the police cannot walk alone but need community support and cooperation to succeed in fighting crime.
Under IG Fayia Sellu, such policing has crystalized in the anti-drug campaign especially in the fight against ‘Kush,’ the most dreadful and deadly of all drugs seen in recent times.
During the campaign, police officers of all ranks are visible in various communities educating the youth on the dangers of crime and drugs in society.
Owing to well cut-out and clear messages coming from the SLP, a vast majority of the youth who were addictive to drugs have adhered to these police messages thus cutting down appreciably the high statistics of deaths and chronic illnesses of the country’s youth associated with the Kush menace.
Most of the drug addicts are now used as messengers to their peers educating them about the bad effects of Drugs.
Community policing is a mere policing philosophy and Local Policing Partnership Boards (LPPBs) are the tools to actualize the community policing philosophy.
LPPBs were almost dead and defunct after their launching in March, 2007 at the Police Academy in Freetown. But, because of his strong belief that no police chief can police a modern and democratic state without public support, the IG has brought them back so that he can work with his people and deliver quality security service to communities.
- Control of Corruption In SLP Through The Use of CCTVs And GPS Monitoring Systems:
Being quite aware that corruption erodes public trust and confidence in the SLP and same time weakens police power and authority, IG Sellu has ensured a zero-tolerance strategy on corruption by fixing CCTV cameras in police offices and checkpoints and GPS in vehicles to locate them anywhere, any time.
With such a strategy, it is now quite rare and bizarre for police officers to either solicit or accept advantages (petty bribes) in the execution of their duties for the fear that they would be caught and the consequence could be dangerous.
The IG is known for wasting no time in invoking relevant portions of the Police Discipline Regulations 2001, for officers who fall foul of the police code.
Such a tough stance over the period under review ensured the weeding-out of several bad eggs from the police service. He has not stopped there; GPS monitors are installed in police vehicles to prevent their misuse as it was the rule other than the exception during years gone by.
The IG’s fight against corruption is an actualization of a commitment contained in the SLP Charter of 1998 where the police pledge to provide a corrupt-free and accountable police service to the people of Sierra Leone.
- Prioritization of In-Service Training:
A professional and successful police agency must place premium on training for the acquisition of proper knowledge, skills and attitude to deliver quality security service to the public.
Thus, Sierra Leone is fortunate to have a Police Chief trying to build the capacity of the men and women in uniform so that his legacy would continue even after he shall have left the service.
A good number of police officers have undergone refresher trainings in crime and general policing to keep them active, knowledgeable and professionalized in their day-to-day policing.
Most police officers have even benefitted from scholarship opportunities to offer law and other police-related courses locally and internationally.
Recently, the head of Legal and Justice Support Department in the SLP, with other police officers, were in Ireland under the Ireland-Africa Fellow Scholarship, to pursue post-graduate courses in several fields that relates to policing, and one of them even had an LLM (Masters of Laws). They are back home and ready to give back to the force and the country whose flag they have flown thousands of miles away from home.
Other police officers also have benefitted from education opportunities to study in various universities across the country particular the University of Sierra Leone.
- Building A Disciplined Police Service:
Discipline is the bedrock of any police institution in any part of the world, and without it, the service crumbles.
As part of the culture of the SLP, a whole stanza in the police song is dedicated, and recruits are taught about it the day they enter the police academy for training, and it echoes in their minds throughout their police career.
Since he had once led the CDIID, Fayia Sellu knows the strategies of building a well-organized and disciplined police institution to make the SLP relevant to national development.
Little wonder that the guns had gone silent for a long time now after IG Sellu occupies the top seat.
Several disciplinary offences relating to police murders or discharging of firearms without just cause have been trampled in the dust of history. He has also taken time to weed-out police officers who trade or peddle in narcotics to restore the image of the SLP. Court records have shown that police men caught with drugs are currently held behind bars after dismissal from the police.
- Places Premium on Recruitment of Professionals (Lawyers and Medical Doctors)
Since the business of policing is the prevention and prosecution of crime by a healthy workforce, the Police IG sees it imperative to recruit lawyers and medical doctors to carry out such tasks.
Such recruitments add up to the number of serving police officers who also have been called to the bar.
Currently, the police service takes pride in a good number of police lawyers prosecuting criminal offences in various magistrate courts across the country, and they are doing well.
The need to have such brilliant legal minds is to control a situation in which police officers lose well-investigated criminal matters since lay police officers of past time could not withstand the fire power of well-trained defense lawyers. Unlike in the past, and save in few circumstances, it is very difficult now for police prosecutors to lose matters in court for being panic-stricken and jittery of private lawyers representing clients.
It is good to have lawyers, but it is also good to have medics that can take care of sick police officers especially those injured during operations.
Walking towards this direction, the Police Boss has recruited highly qualified health professionals (Medical doctors and nurses) who are currently offering professional medical services to the police personnel. By ensuring a robust health system in the police service, the IG operationalizes the old adage of “health is wealth.”
It is not only lawyers and medics that have been recruited but also other professionals in various walks of life such as engineers, computer scientists, Cyber Security experts and Public Relations professionals serving in various fields of policing since the police service is a whole universe.
- Regular Supply of Police Kits and Rice as Motivation for SLP Personnel:
It can be safely argued that it is only a moribund and lackluster leadership that can cause the demotivation of its personnel either in a police agency or any other institution. For IG Fayia Sellu, it is a different ball-game altogether.
Motivation of personnel by ensuring frequent and timely supplies of police accoutrements and food is at the core of his policing since he has always wanted to derive the best from his personnel.
These days, police officers, are neat and smart on the streets and ready to maintain law and order when called upon to do so. Besides, no personnel has ever vented out frustration about their supplies since it is regularly brought to them.
- Maintaining and Improving International Peace-keeping and Law Enforcement outside Sierra Leone:
International peace-keeping has been a source of grumbling and frustration for many police officers before this time.
But, now is the reverse as it has been liberalized by the current Police Chief as he wants to see everyone enjoying the fruits of his labour.
Under his rule, any police officer with the right knowledge and skills will take part in the peace-keeping mission without consideration of tribe and region. IG Sellu thinks national and cuts across tribes.
Currently, a good number of police officers are in peace-keeping missions in Darfur, Somalia and other parts of the world, a move facilitated and maintained by the IGP.
As current Chairman of ECOWAS police chiefs, peace-keeping mission blossoms to higher heights to send a very strong message to the world that Sierra Leone can secure their people and export such security service to other countries in the world. Very recently, a female police officer, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Mbalu Zainab Gbla made Sierra Leone proud when she bagged the ‘Best Female Police Officer’ award at the Peace-keeping mission.
Fayia Sellu’s strategies to achieve a peaceful society means he has passed a real police test: the real test of any viable police agency is the absence of crime and disorder.