CESTOS, River Cess — Police in River Cess face significant hurdles in doing their jobs. Besides a small staff and delays in salary payments, the lack of logistical support remains a major concern.

For six years, River Cess police have operated without an assigned vehicle. The only time the local police have access to vehicles is when members of the Police Support Unit, an armed component of the Liberia National Police, are deployed in the county.

However, these PSU patrol pickups are not always available; for example, now that the specialized unit is not present in River Cess, the local police are without any vehicles.

During President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s May 9 visit to River Cess, Superintendent Matthew Z. Daniels made a formal request for a pickup to enhance the operations of the police.

Four days later, a four-door pickup was sent to the county for the River Cess Police Detachment. The pickup arrived on May 13, but since then, it has been parked at the River Cess police headquarter.

Inspector Bill Pyne, the deputy commander for operations, told The Bush Chicken that the pickup is not in working condition for police operations.

“We cannot use the pickup because it has problems,” Pyne said. “There is no four-wheel [drive], no pressure, and even the [air conditioner] is not working.”

Pyne said he had informed authorities at the central office of the Liberia National Police and they were in the process of repairing an existing PSU vehicle to send to River Cess as a replacement.

Featured photo by Eric Doue