The former Interior minister made these remarks at the party’s headquarters on Kairaba Avenue on Tuesday.
Mr. Fatty made these remarks amid calls to dissolve the Anti-Crime Unit heightened among sections of Gambians after its commander Gorgi Mboob was accused of manhandling one Ebrima Sanneh, causing him bodily injuries.
However, while the GMC condemned all forms of police brutality, he emphasised the need to have the unit functioning.
“Today against advice, I stand very firmly in support of maintaining the Anti-crime Department. I stand very firmly in supporting the mandate of the Anti-Crime Department.
“I stand very firmly in supporting additional funding and capacity training for Anti-Crime Department for if I had remained as Interior Minister it was going to be my greatest weapon of crime reduction and ensuring that violent criminals who belong to jail are locked up for good and our streets are safe, our homes are safe and our properties are safe.
“So the anti-crime is a great vision and a great instrument in the hands of any democratic government particularly a police force that is necessary for democratic dispensation.”
Describing the unit as one of the most effective branches of the police department, Mr. Fatty said, “Anti-Crime Department is good news for The Gambia.
“And I differ with all those who are calling for the scraping of the department. Every country needs an anti-crime department. It is called different names but it is a useful department, it is a functional and effective department that must exist in any country that cares about violence and crime in particular.
“So the call for it to be scrapped is wrong, it’s improper and the foundation is also unjustifiable.
He called for the streamlining of the functions of the unit and to be led by competent and trustworthy Gambians who will strike a balance in respecting the law as well as the protection of individual rights and properties.
“What we must not say is because the crime of one individual against the public is a justification for closing down a vital department that is keeping in the meme public sieve safety and security will be a wrong choice.”
The Anti-Crime Unit boss Gorgi Mboob has been suspended pending the outcome of investigations of allegations against him.
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