The new Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Ebun Oluwarotimi Adelesi has emphasised that the Police Command under her watch shall be on crime prevention around the State.

Adelesi said this while addressing journalists during her maiden meeting with the press in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, North Central Nigeria.

She said her resolution to fiercely prevent crime across the State is due to her conviction that the emotional, social, economic and practical costs of victimization are unquantifiable and extremely burdensome.

According to her, this is borne out of Police conviction that the emotional, social, economic and practical costs of victimization are unquantifiable and extremely burdensome.

She stressed that crime can undermine the legitimacy of a State by destroying the trust relationship between the people and the State because of the State's inability to ensure the safety of its citizens.

The state Police Boss said, “Our resolve to have crime prevention as the major policy thrust is further enhanced by the notion that crime can directly undermine the legitimacy of a State by destroying the trust relationship between the people and the State. This is because the most obligation of the State is to ensure the safety of its citizens.”

Adelesi added that “concerted efforts will be made to put in place and sustain strategies which reduce, avoid or eliminate victimization by crime or violence. Such strategies include intelligence gathering, intensified anti-crime patrols, cooperation and collaboration with sister security agencies, as well as deployment of Quick Response Squads.”

She also pledged to cooperate and collaborate with the communities through community policing, noting these strategies are aimed at preventing the occurrence of crimes by reducing opportunities and increasing the risks of being apprehended.

“Existing efforts to cooperate and collaborate with the communities will also be enhanced since they are in a good position to contribute to the policing of their environment. These strategies are aimed at preventing the occurrence of crimes by reducing opportunities and increasing the risks of being apprehended” she added.

Adelesi promised to secure the State's boundaries with other states by collaborating with the Police commands of those states in order to forestall felons from taking undue advantage of the interstate boundaries to perpetrate criminal activities.

She said Kwara, “shares borders with Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Kogi and Niger States. Arrangements are therefore being made to strengthen the existing collaboration between the composite State Commands as a way of forestalling felons from taking undue advantage of the interstate boundaries to perpetrate criminal activities.

“The Police Border Patrol Squad domiciled in the State will also be effectively deployed and supervised to forestall cross-border crime.” the CP said.

The new Police boss also sued for the cooperation of the people of Kwara State in her stride to ensure a very safe and secure place where peace and tranquillity reign.

“Let me however use this medium to solicit the cooperation of every law-abiding member of the public in our resolve to make Kwara State a very safe and secured place where peace and tranquillity reign.”

She, however, assured that the Police will be civil but firm in discharging their statutory duties without fair or favour and will discharge their duty with a high level of professionalism.

According to her, the officers and men will be effectively superintended to ensure they discharge their duties with a high level of professionalism while particular attention shall be paid to the protection and promotion of the human rights of all and declared that the issue of cultism and other social vices in the society will be adequately dealt with.