Sierra Leone police enlist youth volunteers

The move is intended to help the city's police force

Sierra Leone has launched an initiative to enlist youths as crime-fighting volunteers in Freetown.

Police chief Chris Charley said the capital, which is blighted by rampant criminality, would be divided into 860 zones with 10 youth volunteers in each.

He said they would help the police to tackle endemic problems like anti-social behaviour and armed robbery.

Sierra Leone is still recovering from a decade-long civil war that ended in 2002, in which child soldiers fought.

The BBC's Lansana Fofana, in Freetown, says hundreds of boys have already agreed to sign up.

But he says the proposals have drawn mixed feelings from residents.

Some are concerned that the boys chosen to be volunteers may themselves be criminals.

Others have little faith in the police and welcome any alternative.

Mr Charley told the BBC's Network Africa programme there would be strict screening of the volunteers.

"They must be 18 years old or above, must be a member of the community where they reside, must not have a criminal record," he said.

"They must be physically and mentally fit and they must not be alcoholics or drug addicts."

And he said the volunteers would "complement" the police rather than replacing them.