Solomon Arase, the chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), says the commission will focus on retraining police personnel to meet citizens’ expectations.

“Nigerians want to see a responsible police force that can react to complaints, elicit that degree of respect for human rights and be able to win the hearts and minds of the people,” Arase said in Abuja.

The PSC chairman, who spoke to journalists on Friday, said training and retraining were essential to responsible policing.

He, therefore, said the PSC would continue to focus on raising the capacity of police personnel to respond to internal security challenges.

“A well-trained officer is confident of himself because when you are well trained, you can manage anger,” said Mr Arase. “There is nothing somebody will tell you that will elicit that anger in you to take your firearm and begin to shoot.”

He added, “So, anger management is one, psychological reassurance of members of the public of what you are doing as a police officer is also very important.”

Mr Arase also said once a police officer gets support from the public, “it means that you are beginning to win their hearts”.

According to him, training and retraining of police personnel in the country had been abandoned over the years.

“The focus has been on recruitment and promotion, which are secondary if we want to ensure an efficient and responsible police force.

“We should be considering how we can look at the system and identify those areas where we actually need support in terms of training and retraining.” 

(NAN)