Liberia: LNP Launches New Recruitment Drive, Betting on Numbers and Reform to Rebuild Public Trust

Inspector General Gregory Coleman told recruits Friday that the force is currently at a roughly 21-to-79 ratio of women to men and is targeting 33 percent female representation, framing the goal as part of the reform agenda under President Joseph Nyumah Boakai’s administration. Inspector General Gregory O. W. Coleman has launched a new Liberia National Police recruitment exercise, framing it as central to nearly two decades of post-war security sector reform. The drive echoes past campaigns going back to a 2007 UNMIL-backed push for female recruits, and revives familiar goals: closing the police-to-population gap, replacing an aging workforce, and lifting women’s representation toward a 33 percent target from the current 21 percent.

Coleman also pledged the process would be merit-based and free of bribery, as the force seeks roughly $12 million to add 1,500 officers ahead of the 2029 elections. By Rodney D. Sieh, rodney. sieh@frontpageafricaonline. com Monrovia- Liberia’s police force is opening its doors to a new generation of officers, with the Liberia National Police (LNP) launching a recruitment exercise this week that officials describe as central to consolidating nearly two decades of security sector reform. Speaking at the launch, Inspector General of Police Gregory O. W. Coleman told an audience of government officials, international partners, security sector representatives and civil society leaders that the drive is not simply about growing headcount. “Our objective is not simply to increase the size of the police service,” he said. “It is to strengthen an institution that is already serving the Liberian people and make it more representative, inclusive, accessible, responsive and effective. ” A FORCE STILL REBUILDING The LNP’s story is inseparable from Liberia’s…