The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, on Thursday said 37,000 policemen were promoted in January.

Arase said this in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, during his official visit to the command. Arase said, "We have this year January promoted 37,000 of you in all ranks. We will continue to do that to encourage you and we will continue to tell the public that these are the best officers you can find. I am very passionate about your welfare. I cannot dispatch men to the roads without thinking about their welfare.

"The promotion covered officers and men promoted (last) in 2010. We are now thinking about those promoted last in 2011. We have started compiling their names for promotion." However, the police chief stated that policemen in the country had problems of "necessary tools" to carry out their constitutional roles.

He said, "If you go outside this country people will eulogise you, saying you are the best we can have in the system. So if you are the best we can have outside the shores of this country, why are you not the best here? "It is because the necessary tools to work with must be provided for you to excel."

Arase said the police had initiated a housing welfare plan for officers and urged them to take their job very seriously. He said, "I am very passionate about the inspectors and the rank and file. If you ask me why, you are the powerhouse of the Nigeria Police Force. It is you people that we send to the highways, mount the charge and do most of the investigations we carry out. That is why I have resolved to touch the lives of inspectors and rank and file most profoundly.

"That is why we have initiated the housing programme. Before any inspector or rank and file retires he must have his two-bedroomed apartment. "I will continue to do anything edifying the Nigeria Police Force." The IG urged officers to improve themselves.

According to him, the latest trends in policing is to have sufficient evidence before inviting someone to the police station. Arase said, "As investigators and police officers, you must ensure that all your actions are within the law. I believe that you cannot police a community unless you are connected to the community.

"Community partnership in policing is very key, I will expect all Divisional Police Officers, all Area Commanders and even the Commissioner of Police to once in a while assemble the stakeholders in the states." He lamented bad public perception of the police, urging officers to maintain a cordial relationship with the community to enhance effective community policing.