Ven. Dr. Popoola, PCRC Chairman, Ogun State
By Foluso Adelaja, Executive Editor
In a not too distant future, the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), an organization set up casually by the Nigerian Police to relate with its civil publics may transcend into a quasi police force.
This is because members of the organization have realized their importance to police operations nationwide and are now advocating for regular training to enhance its capability in information and intelligence gathering so as to be more useful to the police force.
To this end, the Ogun State chapter of the organization has concluded arrangements with Chrisland University, Abeokuta to commence training of its members.
According to the Chairman of PCRC, Ogun State, Ven. Dr. Samson Kole Popoola, in an interview with THE STATEPOST, all arrangements have been concluded to commence the training in Community Policing at the university by January 2021.
Ven. Popoola explained that the core mandate of the PCRC is to give support to the police to enable them perform their duties diligently adding that over time, however, the supports have gone beyond financial as the organization now also inform the police about trouble spots in the community and other related intelligent information.
He said the task of information and intelligence gathering has become tasking to the extent that it often put PCRC members at risk pointing out that members therefore need to be trained and retrained on Community Policing and Crime Control.
The PCRC chairman explained that the planned course at Chrisland University will be a crash program and would be certificated.
He also revealed that the PCRC in the state is talking with two other universities to come out with the appropriate training for its members.
Ven. Popoola noted that the training of its members would be very beneficial to some of them who may want to establish private security outfits in the future.
Lauding the police for the establishment of PCRC, he noted that the organization has become sacrosanct to not only to police operations but to the nation in general.
He pointed out that the PCRC has taken the police back to the people adding that the organization is even now at the centre of Community Policing that the nation is now advocating.
On what should be changed in the attitude and mindset of the general membership in order to better the organization, the Ogun State chairman said he would want humility among the rank and file of members in their communities and not to expect preferential treatments at police stations all because they are members of the PCRC.
He said members should see themselves first as constituents of their communities and not become menace to the people all because they are members of the organization.
