Today, 56 new recruits were welcomed into the FCC Metropolitan Police Force at a ‘Passing Out’ ceremony at the Sierra Leone Peacekeeping and Law Enforcement Academy at Hastings.

The ceremony followed more than 8 weeks of training in physical, mental and behavioral techniques, which was the final phase of their recruitment process. The training, conducted under the supervision of the academy’s commandant, was done to ensure that the new recruits are prepared for the rigors and challenges of policing a city of more than 1.2million people.

The ceremony was attended by Deputy Inspector General of the Sierra Leone Police (SLP), Elizabeth Turay, who made a statement; Assistant AIG (Training), Jowuloh Ansumana Gbonnoh; Assistant Commissioner Allieu Jalloh, Commandant of SL Peacekeeping and Law Enforcement Academy, Commissioner John T Lassayo, Head of the METPol; and other stakeholders that have played a critical role in making this a reality.

This is the first cohort of METPOL recruits to be trained since 2010. The recruitment and training will significantly improve FCC’s capacity to protect life and property, and enforce sanitation Freetown’s bylaws as, before now, FCC had only 150 METPol to serve our city’s 1.2 million residents. Thank you to the Sierra Leone Police for providing the training to our newly-recruited officers.