The Acting Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has launched the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) manual for Schools Protection Squad (SPS) at a workshop on Safe Schools Initiative for Strategic Policing in Abuja. The launch follows the recent establishment of Schools Protection Squad (SPS), a high-profile special unit for the protection of schools and educational institutions across the country. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) manual is a comprehensive document that provides clear guidelines for the smooth operationalization of the Schools Protection Squad (SPS).In his remarks, the IG said the manual spells out the organizational framework of the unit, procedures for mobilization and code of conduct for officers assigned to the unit. He said it equally provided procedures for collaboration with other security agencies to ensure a coordinated approach in tackling threats to schools and educational institutions. The police chief enumerated some of the strategies to be employed by the NPF in the achievement of the mandate of the School Protection Squad to include the generation of information and development of intelligence, community policing partnerships, police-public cooperation and inter-agency collaboration. Others include security and administration of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), deployment of logistic assets, humanitarian services, as well as training for school managers/teachers and members of the host communities on their roles in emergency situations. The IG, while noting that the initiative will commence with 18 pilot states which are more vulnerable, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), assured that the police will diligently undertake the responsibility of safeguarding educational institutions against potential harms and threats and urged all stakeholders to support the federal government, the police, and other partners for the achievement of the initiative. (THISDAY)

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