Monrovia, Liberia- An online Crime Statistics Information System (CSIS) has been launched at the headquarters of the Liberia National Police (LNP), a press release from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said on Tuesday.
The “Go Live” launch of the system held 25, January 2021, was also marked by the beginning of a five-day Training of Trainer’s workshop on the crime database system for 15 personnel.
It forms part of a wider rule of law case management system which uses a modern web application that allows relevant institutions to record reported crimes and cases as they are processed through the criminal justice chain in Liberia, the UNDP January 26, 2021 press release said.
This case tracking tool will be utilized by major rule of law institutions like the Ministry of Justice and the LNP which will, initially be piloted separately by the various institutions.
The Initiative is under a joint UN Liberia Rule of Law Programme and brings together relevant UN Agencies under the UN Global Focal Point on Rule of Law. It is supported by UNDP Crisis Bureau and leverages specialization and comparative advantages.
Mr. James Monibah who represented the United Nations Development Programme at the event, recognized UNDP’s long-standing relationship and trusted partnership with the Liberia National Police.
Monibah stressed the link between rule of law and development which provides an imperative for continual technical capacity building and service delivery in the justice and security sector.
“Having a crime statistic data system, enables relevant stakeholders to track cases as they move through the criminal justice system by receiving information on the patterns of crime, its prevalence, the hotspots and periods of increased criminality,” stressed Monibah.
He also mentioned that the system measures case backlog in courts, the status of pre-trial detention and assesses the disposal rate of cases, which will, enable policy makers put appropriate responses in place to enhance the efficiency of the criminal justice system.”
From UN Women, Kofi Ireland hoped to see follow-up trainings that will be led by the Liberia National Police as a sign of transfer of skills.
Ireland thanked UNDP for leading the programme and reiterated that regular and updated statistics on crime was important to the operations of the police and the public.
For his part, the LNP Commissioner for Administration, Ambrose Nebo, thanked the United Nations for its continued support to the Liberia National Police especially regarding crime statistics.
Nebo noted that capacity building adds values to the work of the Liberia National Police. He said the LNP remains indebted to its partners and will ensure that the training bears fruits.
The Commissioner encouraged participants to take advantage of the training and reiterated that his institution will do all it can to ensure that more female officers benefit from the programme, bearing in mind UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on the role of women on peace and security.