IPNEWS-Monrovia: The Director of The Center for Criminal Justice Research and Education (CCJRE) has expressed his organization preparedness to produce well trained, educated and inspired operational leave leaders for the country security sectors.
Cecil Griffiths gave the assurance on Friday, March 17, following the successful completion of six weeks rigorous training of 11 state security personnel, which according to him, has earned them another feat in their career.
Griffiths said the training was his center efforts to strengthen the criminal justice system in the country which have concentrated on rebuilding the capacity of criminal investigators, particularly on investigating the crime scene that is hindering the prosecution of suspected persons.
“Building effective investigation team will assist the Liberian justice system in avoiding mistakes, such as lengthy detentions without trial, or wrongful convictions and overly harsh sentences,” Griffiths noted. “A well-trained criminal investigators moreover, is not only critical to ensure due process, but also key in building the trust of the public in the country’s criminal justice system.”
Griffiths said, the training was designed to prepare participants for advanced criminal investigation and evidence gathering with emphasis on developing competency on higher strategy, particularly crime scene management, witness management, internal investigations and writing of investigative report.
According to him, participants were physically thought introduction and fundamental of criminal investigation, modern day investigation, and the tools of criminal investigation, overview of the criminal justice system and the role of investigators among others.
This, he said was reflected in the mission of the center which is to produce well trained, educated and inspired operational level leaders for the security sectors.
The president of the class, Francine G. Doe, and independent investigator commended the CCJRE for its commitment to manpower development in the country.
She also call on development partners and the government to commit themselves to supporting CCJRE in the efforts to develop the rights set of skills and knowledge of the security personnel to be better prepared to tackle security threats that confront the country criminal justice system.
She added that with the continuity and sustainability of training, the country would develop the required capacity to be able to overcome the present criminal investigation challenges and those of the future.
According to her, CCJRE the world over, hold their pride of place as centres of excellence for security operational leadership training.
The 11 participants include four senior officers from the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), two each from the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS), and the Bureau of Corrections and Rehabilitation (BCR), as well as, one officer from the Ministry of National Defense (MND), and two independent investigators.
