SLP Moves to Build Public Trust Through Community Engagement
Aminata Koroma The Community Relations Department (CRD) of the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) has engaged residents across selected communities in the Western Area as part of efforts to strengthen public trust, improve security cooperation and promote community-oriented policing.
The two-week intensive outreach programme, conducted under the Directorate of Gender and Community Affairs, covered all police stations in the Freetown East and Freetown West Police Regions.
During the exercise, the CRD team visited communities identified as potential Early Warning Signal (EWS) areas, including Waterloo, Wellington, Moeba, Mabala, Susan’s Bay and selected communities in Goderich.
The engagements provided residents with an opportunity to interact directly with police personnel, raise local security concerns and discuss ways of strengthening community participation in crime prevention.
The outreach also focused on educating the public about the Sierra Leone Police’s transition towards community-oriented policing, while encouraging professionalism and positive conduct among police officers.
The initiative forms part of the Sierra Leone Police’s broader Force-to-Service transition, which seeks to place public trust, accountability, professionalism and community participation at the centre of policing.
The successful conclusion of the programme further demonstrates the Police’s commitment to improving service delivery and building stronger relationships with the communities they serve.