As part of crime prevention and community safety strategy, Gombe State Police Command, under the Police Community Partnership Approach to Policing project, collaborated with a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Mr. Lumi Irimiya, trained 250 unemployed youths in the production of emulsion and text coat paints. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Austin Iwah, spoke with our Crime Editor, Emma Nnadozie, on how he was able to achieve the eat.

Excerpts:

Background

“Constantly, studies have revealed that majority of our youths take part in the commission of crimes due to idleness/joblessness and the desire to satisfy their daily wants. Thus, majority of offenders have been found to be young persons who lack meaningful livelihood or are engaged in any course of instruction whether formal or informal.

The analysis therefore is that, these youths are involved in crimes and anti-social behaviours because their enormous and vibrant energies are not positively engaged to keep them busy and off the streets. The resultant effect is that majority of them become recruits willingly or unwillingly to miscreants who exploit their innocence to transform them to perpetrators of crimes such as theft, rape, armed robbers, etc under outlawed groups such as the Kalare Gangs.

Reduction in crime rate

“The Gombe State Police Command realized that crime rate in the State would be reduced to the barest minimum when theses youths are positively engaged. Therefore, the idea to train some of these youths in the skills of paint production was conceived in order to deal with these social problems. The concept was designed in line with the Gombe State Command’s Social Crime Prevention Programme under the Crime Prevention and Community Safety Strategy, the programme was conceived to rescue these youths from the streets, empower them and by so doing, reduce crime by a large percentage.

Paint production, skills acquisition training

“In an effort to achieve the Command’s set-out goal, a partnership was formed between the Gombe State Police Command and Mr. Lumi Irimiya, who is a National youth Service Corps (NYSC) member serving in the State, to train the youths in paint production skills acquisition. After careful planning and organization, the training commenced on 8th February, 2016, and ended on 14th February, 2016, lasting one whole week. The venue for the training was the Police Barracks Gombe, with Two Hundred and Fifty (250) unemployed youths as participants. Mr. Lumi Irimiya, with support from officers of the Command, took the trainees through theory and practical production of emulsion and text-coat paints. At the end of the training, the trainees, divided into six groups, produced drums of paints as part of their final test to qualify as competent persons to produce quality paints. The training session was very exciting as the youths showed great enthusiasm, dedication and hard-work such that both trainers and the trainees had a fun- filled time throughout the duration of the training.

Usage of end product

“It was heart-warming that paints produced by the trainees were confirmed to be of high standard in both quantity and quality. The paints were used to re-paint Block G of the Police Barracks, Gombe which was dilapidated and looking very irritating. The repainted block is now looking bright and shining and indeed stands out visibly to any visitor to the Barracks.

Closing ceremony and presentation of certificates

“In order to give the whole exercise meaningful status and also encourage the trainees that they are indeed very important, a certificate of apprenticeship was produced and a very elaborate closing ceremony and certificates presentation was designed to mark the end of the training. The essence of the occasion is to further spread the good news and by so doing encourage their peers to aspire to be like them and abandon the streets and miscreant life. Again, awarding them a certificate will further ease their access to opportunities for employment and other profitable venture they may undertake, especially in our society where over dependency on certificates is the order of the day.

Further development and sustainability

“In order for the original intentions of the Command in organizing this training not to-be short-lived, the Command has put in place necessary machinery to keep track of the trained youths, provide guidance and counselling for them as they go along in their pursuit of purposeful ventures. Amongst others, these young paint makers will be organized into cooperative societies and associations and relevant contacts made to facilitate their easy access to funding and gainful employment/jobs.

Keying into the programme

“Gombe State Police Command hopes that Governments at all levels, corporate bodies and individual members of the public, will key into this noble programme and assist the Police to not just serve them better but, help to give these willing leaders of tomorrow a brighter and purposeful life, such that, our society will be safer for improved economic growth.”