The Sierra Leone Police (SLP) is on the verge of receiving modern equipment to establish 100 criminal data collection workstations across the country, aimed at combating Transnational Organized Crime. The equipment will be provided by INTERPOL through its West Africa Police Information System (WAPIS) program.
The announcement was made by D/CSP Genevieve Tity Cowan, Head of INTERPOL in the Sierra Leone Police, during the first WAPIS National Steering Committee Meeting held at the Atlantic Lumley Hotel in Freetown on June 18, 2024.
Doubling as the Director of Crime Services and a representative of the Inspector General of Police, Commissioner Joseph Ibrahim Lahai commended the successes of the WAPIS program, saying: “The digitalization of criminal data, especially the creation of an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) for law enforcement agencies, is a big and involving task. However, it is a crucial pathway in fighting Transnational Organized Crime in West Africa. We are grateful for the WAPIS program being implemented by INTERPOL.”
Lahai also highlighted the benefits of the I-24/7 system, which has eased police operations by streamlining data collection, analysis, sharing, referencing, and inter-institutional interfacing.
Speaking as the Keynote speaker on behalf of government, Chief of Staff at Office of National Security Francis Languba Keili acknowledged that Transnational Organized Crime is a borderless issue that requires urgent and robust action. He praised the European Union’s funding support for the program, noting that such resources are not readily available and emphasized the need for an exit strategy to ensure a smooth transition.
“If you cease sponsoring the program by 2025, it will be challenging for government to continue from where you stop because such funds are not readily available and government has to create a budget line for it,” Keily pleaded with EU representatives. “It is necessary to devise a transition plan so that government can plan itself well to fit into that expenditure.”
The meeting concluded with deliberations on technical and professional aspects of the WAPIS program.
SLP Media Team
