Digital Transformation Hits Sierra Leone Police as DSTI Launches Nationwide ICT Training Programme

Thousands of police officers could soon deliver faster, smarter and more efficient public services as the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) launches a nationwide ICT training programme designed to modernise policing in Sierra Leone.

The Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) and Victory Teens Organization (VTO), has officially launched an ICT Training Programme aimed at equipping police personnel with the digital skills needed for modern law enforcement.

The initiative, which begins in Freetown, Kenema and Makeni, seeks to strengthen officers' foundational ICT knowledge, improve service delivery and accelerate the digital transformation of the Sierra Leone Police.

Speaking during the launch, Victory Teens Organization Director, Madam Florence Finda Lebbie, described the programme as an investment in people, institutions and national development. She announced scholarship opportunities alongside fully funded ICT and vocational training for eligible police officers and their children, expanding the programme's impact beyond the workplace.

DSTI Project Manager Tigidankay Bah explained that the initiative grew out of discussions to digitise the Sierra Leone Police Human Resource Management System. She said those discussions revealed that building officers' digital capacity was a necessary first step before introducing more advanced digital systems.

Bah further disclosed that DSTI has trained and certified more than 83,000 Sierra Leoneans through its digital learning programmes over the past five years, underscoring the institution's commitment to building a digitally skilled workforce across the country.

The programme officially commenced with an orientation session at the Digital Learning Hub in Makeni, where more than 40 officers from the Makeni Police Division were introduced to the Tech 101 Programme.

Addressing the participants, Deputy Inspector General of Police Sahid Umaru Senesie urged officers to fully embrace the opportunity, stressing that improved digital skills would enhance policing, strengthen public service delivery and better prepare the force for an increasingly technology-driven future.

The initiative represents another significant milestone in Sierra Leone's broader digital transformation agenda, as government institutions continue investing in technology, innovation and human capital to improve governance and public service delivery.

Source: DSTI-SL