The Gambia police force must be out of their minds for charging GALA youths for unlawful assembly, an infringement on their basic fundamental human rights. Instead of pursuing real criminals or prosecuting enormous pending cases under their custody, they are going after innocent citizens, kidnapping and abusing them. This is shameful to every veteran and serving member of the force alike.
Crisis intervention techniques are short-term, immediate strategies designed to mitigate acute distress, prevent long-term trauma, and ensure safety during overwhelming events. Key techniques include active listening, de-escalation, establishing rapport, grounding exercises, and creating immediate action plans. These techniques prioritise stabilising the individual and restoring a sense of control.
Go after real criminals and drug barons, not these GALA youths. Go after tribal bigots who are trying to set our country ablaze. Follow the surge and trends of corruption, and people bent on economic crimes, causing the proliferation of government and local government resources.
I am not anti-police, but the behaviours I see the police engage in raise serious doubts as to whether these uniformed men and women are truly Gambians, for The Gambia or pushing the agenda for a notorious individual. If the police had become accustomed to using the crisis intervention matrix to de-escalate crises before they occur by engaging GALA youths and providing them with the necessary security, we would not have reached the point that unfolded before our eyes. We witnessed a blatant clampdown on freedom of speech, assembly, and dissent. This is poor management and a waste of taxpayers’ resources, considering the resources deployed on the youths.
Where are the security sector reforms? The GPF has been polarised and reduced to political razzmatazz, an extension of the ruling NPP. This is utterly disgusting. We appreciate and value the hardworking men and women in uniform who are trying hard to ensure law and order and keep the peace. However, we refused to be silent, and we’ll call out any unethical behaviour that the police infringe upon the lives and liberties of Gambians.
Gambians deserve to be free, but these perpetual police brutalities remind us of the dark days of the worst brutal dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh. Serious governments will retire older adults who have outlived their usefulness from the force and replace them with vibrant, determined folks ready to work and serve for the greater good of their republic.
That is not what is happening at the Gambia Police Force, and history will judge its leadership for these injustices, indifference, and inequality gaps in how they treat Gambians with impunity.
Command responsibility will be used as a yardstick to hold police command accountable for their inaction in prosecuting human rights violators within the police force. Are the police demigods and above the law?
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By Ensa A. B. Ceesay
