By: Saidu Jalloh
The Director of Corporate Affairs of Sierra Leone Police (SLP), AIG Esther Kaitor Dukuray has announced that the Sierra Leone Police together with United Nations Development Program(UNDP), will launch the Strategic Development Plan (SDP) for 2025- 2029 today on Thursday 30th January, 2025, at the Ministry of Foreign Affair Conference Room.
In a press conference, madam Dukuray explained that the Strategic Development Plan represents the contributions, view, feedback and protections of the general public, partners, officers and staff, and is a further step towards shaping and positioning the organisation for the challenges it faces now and in the future, as it is transition from a Force into a Service.
AIG Dukuray narrated that the SLP operates a five-year Strategic Development Plan (SDP) that guides the organisation in its day to day activities and the recent SDP expired in December last year. She continued that in February 2024, a public perception survey on the SLP was conducted by a hired consultant, which formed the basis of writing in the next SDP.
She revealed that the SDP would set the roadmap of where they want to take the SLP, which tends to transition from a Force to a Service. Madam Dukuray noted that the SDP had showed their identity, vision, mission and core values as well highlighted the achievement during the last five years (2020-2025).
“The SDP would be backed by many opportunities that the transition would bring and add value to the overall service delivery,” AIG Dukuray added.
However, she underscored that despite the commitment of the SLP to deliver on their mandates, there is still trust deficit on the part of the public towards the police. She clarified that the situation is exacerbated by the tight environment SLP is operating with limited personnel and inadequate resources, technology, training and equipment.
“Public trust is essential especially in addressing emerging crimes and public order issues like cyber security, sexual- gender based violence (SGBV), drugs and human trafficking. A comprehensive approach, including robust community partnership and engagement, political will and sustained support for the police is the only way out of this conundrum,” she expressed.
She emphasised the public trust could only be achieved by the transitioning of the Police Force to a Police Service.
AIG Dukuray announced that the development of the SDP 2025-2029 had coincided with the SLP’s determination to transition from a Force to a Service where their service delivery would be totally anchored in community-oriented policing, and that the overall aim of the SLP Strategic Development Plan seek to create a safer and just community that would foster national development.
She said the Executive Management Board (EMB) of the SLP decided to use in house expertise to guide the process of developing the new SDP.
AIG Dukuray added that when the SDP would be launched, it would give SLP personnel opportunity to extract their annual work plan for 2025 and the subsequent years.
