Sierra Leone Police despite being referred to as “A force for Good” have been for a very long time on the spotlight for some bad reasons including but not limited to their involvement in bribery and corruption, brutality and abuse those they are supposed to protect as their mandate requires by law.
Fair enough, some few bad elements that have refused to conform to transformation have continued to tarnish the good image of the reputable organisation, hence, doing the work in their own way (bad work) without the least consideration to its consequences.
The latest startling revelation by commercial sex workers (raray girls) as they are locally called who told a prominent senior legal practitioner Appeal Judge Reginald Finn of how they’re mistreated by some cruel police officers particularly at night, has just given credence to the numerous allegations levied against them. “Any time they realized that we have made some money from our clients, they will advance on us, arrest us and threaten to prosecute us, so they’ll at the end take away all what we have and in some cases have sex with us,” the innocent calls girls told the Judge.
Of course, there is no gainsaying that these bad police officers quite apart from wreaking havoc on their unsuspecting victims, they are also in the habit of abusing harmful substances including cannabis sativa (jamba) and killer kush which has cost many of them their jobs.
“It’s very unfair for police to arrest people for crimes they continue to commit on daily basis,” an angry teenager who was arrested few days ago insisted.
In addition, police are also charged by the public for accepting bribes and extorting money from drivers, okada and kekeh riders at different points across the country without mercy or fear, but they keep denying. “Bad policing is rife in the SLP,” a concerned citizen fumed, insisting that until these bad eggs are weeded out, they will continue to give the organization bad name.
In another related development, some officers have also defied their boss IG William Fayia Sellu’s instruction to stop building in police barracks including the biggest and oldest Kingtom Barracks until further notice. The rampant self-built structures have undoubtedly disfigured the prominence of these barracks, but those who are boasting of having connections within the police hierarchy, have deliberately ignored their boss’ order and going ahead with their building projects allegedly that nothing will come out of it.
“These are the same police officers who used to undermine previous IGPs and are now hell bent in doing so to the current IGP,” a concerned civilian stated in anger, adding that the situation is now a litmus test for IG Fayia Sellu.