The Liberia National Law Enforcement Association (LINLEA) on Thursday celebrated its 31st anniversary with the theme, “Integrity and Service: Honoring the Ethics of Law Enforcement”.
Speaking at the celebration, held at the YMCA in Monrovia, the President of LINLEA, Col. Cecil B. Griffiths, underscored the need for other crucial security legislations of the Criminal Procedure Law to be amended to provide for semi-autonomy of the Bureau of Corrections to further protect the rights of inmates and detainees in correction facilities across the country.
President Griffiths stated that the acts created that Liberia Fire Service and Public Safety should provide clarity of roles of institutions dealing with public safety issues and the Ministry of Justice coordinating role, as well as provide for regulation and oversight of private security companies, and the upgrade of the fire prevention code.
He maintained that also the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency Act and the Revised National Security Strategy of Liberia, as well as the revision of the Vehicle and Traffic Laws of Liberia, among others, should be reviewed and upgraded.
According to him, LINLEA commended the government for setting up the Civilian Complaint Boards and Policy Management Boards of the Liberia National Police (LNP)and Liberia Immigration Service (LIS), in keeping with law.
He indicated that these bodies will greatly promote accountability and public confidence that will support LNP and LIS to enhance effective internal governance, but since its establishment CCRB has not received funding from government to carry out its mandate.
“We urge the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry Finance and Development Planning, the National Legislature to make effort to incorporate the CCRB into the Justice Ministry budget during the mid-tern review of the national budget,” President Griffiths explained.
He disclosed that the most pressing issue confronting law administrators today is dealing with the legacy of political manipulation and absorption of hundreds of partisans from the previous administration, many of those absorbed carrying agency ID cards but not receiving salaries.
He noted that this is the failure of law enforcement administrators to promote the adherence to the law enforcement code of ethics and the canons of police ethics, which prohibits the politicization of law enforcement.
“When we go through the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, we realize that, as law enforcement professionals we should pledge to uphold justice with integrity, fairness and unwavering dedication to the communities we serve” LINLEA boss said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice, Oswald Tweh, said all security agencies should work together to ensure that lives and properties are protected in the country.
Minister Tweh stated that providing security for the state and its people should be prioritized by all security officers within the security sector.
He noted that the issue of mob violence has been a challenge confronting the nation over the years, but government has taken decisive steps to curtail the violence in Liberia.
He underscored the need to champion the welfare of security personnel to meet up with the current reality of the society.
For her part, the Minister of National Defense, Geraldine George, who was represented at LINLEA anniversary by the Assistant Defense Minister for Plans, Policy and Operations at the Ministry of National, Allen S. Charleson, said the issue of pension for law enforcement officers is not merely administrative, but a matter of justice. “After decades of honorable service, no officer should retire into uncertainty or poverty” Minister Charleson added.
He underscored that the application of civil service regulations to uniformed officers should be critically examined, noting that law enforcement is not just another branch of public administration.