Liberia: LDEA Boosts Investigative Capacity

What the report says

Twenty-eight officers of Liberia’s Drug Enforcement Agency have completed specialized training and received professional certification in criminal investigation, evidence handling and related areas of the country’s criminal justice system, according to The New Dawn via AllAfrica. The certification ceremony was held in Monrovia on Friday, Sept. 4, and was organized through AME Zion University Graduate School and Professional Studies.

The reported curriculum covered evidence rules, investigative procedures under Liberia’s criminal procedure law, intelligence gathering, report writing, case-file management, courtroom presentation, use of force and constitutional safeguards. AME Zion University officials said the program was intended to strengthen the agency’s professional capacity and improve the quality of investigations that support prosecutions.

LDEA officials used the ceremony to highlight broader internal reforms aimed at professionalism and merit-based advancement. An agency representative urged the graduates to apply their training to improve investigations, strengthen internal systems and mentor other officers. University speakers also linked the effort to Liberia’s wider drug challenge, describing substance abuse as a public health, economic and security concern that requires more than arrests alone.

The training is part of the LDEA’s effort to expand its investigative and enforcement capability as it responds to illicit drug trafficking and related crime in Liberia.