- Sierra Leoneans have lashed out at the government’s proposal to enlist youth into the police force as part of its post conflict initiatives and reintegration.
Locals have said the programme would complicate the already fragile situation in the country, saying the youth enrolment into police force could end up being blighted by the recruitment of young criminal war veterans.
The decade-long civil war brought an end to formal education for a majority of the country’s youth, with many Sierra Leonean youths from poorer rural households having grown up knowing only war and without ever going to school.
However, police chief, Chris Charley said the selection criterions would be based on the age, mental and physical health, and official clearance that one has no criminal records.
According to the police department, the capital city of Freetown would be divided into 860 zones with 10 youth volunteers manning each zone. The youth are expected to tackle the vestiges of an eleven-year war that left in its wake numerous gun-wielding former child soldiers who have contributed to the rise of indiscriminate criminal acts in the country, the officials said.
Despite a disarmament programme that sought to clear Sierra Leone of illegal arms at the end of the war in 2002, the country’s efforts to restore civility is still undermined by uncontrolled crime levels.
The young volunteers will also be fighting any form of anti-social behavior and armed robbery. Local reports said hundreds of boys have already agreed to sign up and serve on a volunteer basis to compliment the police force.
With little or no access to education or vocational training opportunities, income generating activities or health care, young Sierra Leoneans, more often than not, live in abject poverty, dependency, dislocation and family separation.
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