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Primacy of police stressed

    ABIDJAN

    Police and military chiefs ended a day-long seminar in Freetown on Friday, resolving to enhance the primacy of police in civil security matters, the state-owned SLENA reported.

    Deputy Inspector General of Police Kandeh Bangura said for this to work, the public must accept the role of the police as the pre-eminent agent for maintaining law and order. Yet, he added, security was also the responsibility of individuals.

    The meeting resolved that the police be accountable and work in concert with other security bodies such as the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, (UNAMSIL), the Civil Defence Forces - a government militia - and the military, with which it has had antagonistic relations.

    The armed forces said they were educating recruits on their defined role as defenders of the nation, so that the military would again become a disciplined force that could not be manipulated by politicians and ministers.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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