Municipal Policing: Imperative Professionalisation

Government in order to foster the decentralization policy and local development has launched the professionalisation of municipal policing. The Minister of Decentralisation and Local Development, Georges Elanga Obam, on July 10, 2024 at the premises of the National School of Local Administration (NASLA) in Buea, officially launched the training programme of municipal police officers.
The training is based on Presidential Decree No. 2022/354 of 19 August 2022 to lay down conditions for carrying out municipal policing. The decree specifies the framework of municipal policing, outlines its duties, resources and training requirements. Minister Elanga Obam during the launching ceremony for the training of 96 pioneer trainees municipal police officers stated clearly that, “The role of Municipal Police is the maintenance of order and contribute to the growth of the municipalities.”  The decree of August 19, 2022 further specifies that, “The purpose of Municipal policing shall be to maintain order, safety, tranquillity, security and public sanitation on the territory of the council or city council. Municipal Policing shall be placed under the authority of the Mayor.”
The training launched by government is of vital importance to enable Municipal Police officers master the purpose for their existence and more importantly their duties.  The pioneer officers and those who will be trained after them will have to use the decree on Municipal Policing as their daily guide. Therein, they will find their duties some of which include: ensuring safety and convenience of passage  through streets,  quays, public squares, roads; transportation, burial and exhumation of corpses and maintenance of order and decency in cemeteries, without allowing special treatment or requirements  due to the circumstances of the death;  participation where necessary  in the inspection of apparatuses  and/or instruments for handling foodstuffs sold by weight or measure  conducted by the competent government services.  They will also have to know that their duties extend to the: safety of edible foodstuff displayed for sale, in conjunction  with the competent sector of government services; implementation of civil protection activities at the council or community;  demolition of buildings constructed without building permits;  supporting the council revenue office in collecting revenue  for the council.  For both the Mayors and Municipal Police officers, municipal policing is carried out by council employees designated for that purpose. More importantly, “Municipal police officers shall not replace the forces of law and order,” the President of the Republic Paul Biya states in the decree.
The decree therefore positions Municipal Police officers as some of the key actors in fostering development within council areas. Training is mandatory for Municipal Police Officers in Cameroon. The officers after training must be sworn-in before effectively starting work and without training, no one will be considered legally authorized to function as a Municipal Police, Minister Elanga Obam specified.
In respect of the presidential decree and necessity of service, almost all councils in the country are struggling to have Municipal Policing service.  It is indeed imperative that they should have professional officers to ensure harmony and proper functioning of the councils.  
A keen observation of Cameroon’s municipalities shows much cacophony on the field as some unprofessional, untrained and overzealous Municipal Police Officers do infringe into the duties and missions of the forces of law and order, get into excesses in dealing with the population and authorities due to ignorance. The canalization of Municipal Police officers in their important mission therefore requires the imperative professionalization of the service for the sake of harmony and respect of the provisions of the law. All the 360 municipal councils in Cameroon as well as City Councils are by law expected to have Municipal Police Officers to ensure order and contribute to their development.
For the Municipal Police officers to function within the ambit of the law, the curriculum for their training needs to the well-crafted, designed to equip them with the skills needed to ma...