Community policing and child care education

Sir: Community policing has become inevitable amidst the spate of insecurity in Nigeria. However, in the wake of the equivocal acceptance of community policing, there is still a rather disturbing silence about the level of requisite qualification for the recruitment of those needed for community policing.

Presently, qualification for community policing is said to be based on volunteerism and community goodwill. But specifically, what qualifications should volunteers have in terms of child care inclusive of emotional support provision and first aid administration?

News reports reveal the alarming numbers of children who are victims of insecurity in Nigeria. Children cannot reasonably take care of themselves in crisis situations and as such will rely heavily on the community police’s knowledge-level of child care.

With community policing, there must be stakeholders’ dialogue on requisite qualifications of those entrusted with the welfare of children. Community policing must include “child care education.”

Bidemi Nelson wrote from Shield of Innocence Initiative, Ibadan, Oyo State.