The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal on Tuesday stated that the authorities at the Kirikiri and Ikoyi Prisons have barred him from bringing more detainees to their facilities as the prisons have reached their maximum carrying capacities.

He said although there was still a high number of criminals being remanded at both prisons, the Community Policing and the Public Partnership approach he adopted for the state had started yielding fruits as there was a drastic reduction of crime in the state in the last two months.

Edgal, who made the disclosure at a security town hall meeting put together by the Area Police Command, Ajah claimed that criminals  hitherto operating in the state had started relocating.

Identifying residential robberies at night as the major security challenge bedeviling the state at the moment, he assured residents of his commitment to work with local vigilantes and other informal security outfits to eradicate the vice.

 

“We now take our suspects to Badagry Prisons, which is the only prison in Lagos capable of taking more detainees. This will show you that our partnership with the public and the informal policing sector is paying off.

“There is no hiding place for criminals in the state; we go after them immediately we get information from members of the public about their activities,” the commissioner said.

He added: “I have a stand-by force at the Command Headquarters that I deploy to any area that needs to be mopped up. When members of the public send information to us, we act on it and the result is what you are seeing.”

The CP further revealed that the statistics at his disposal showed that the crime rate in the state had drastically decreased over the past few months, adding that all policemen have been warned to be of good behaviour as any act of misconduct would be met with serious punishment to act as deterrent to others.