Towards a more disciplined and people friendly police force in 2017 |30 December 2017
Only a few weeks after he was sworn in as the new commissioner of police at the beginning of October, Kishnan Labonte unveiled a new police organisational structure at the start of November aimed at strengthening the police force to make it more efficient, with more disciplined officers who can reach out to people and serve the community, who can investigate a crime and make effective use of resources.
The new Seychelles Police Force structure has two deputy commissioners of Police (DCP). They are DCP Ted Barbe and DCP Romano Songor. These two DCPs are in charge of the two major departments of the force – Barbe for the Investigation and Personnel Development and Songor for Visible Policing and Specialised Operations. Specialised Operations caters for the former NDEA, now the Anti-Narcotics Bureau (ANB).
Mr Labonte said then that the police force will focus on building up on the capacity it has but noted that there is always a need for it to gain more experience and expertise from other fields to assist it.
“My aim is to remove senior officers from the headquarters, reinstate them in the regions. When based regionally they will be able to take charge of their regions and stations. This will reduce pressure on the Commissioner of Police as they will be his representatives in those regions. They will be in a better position to supervise their officers and take ownership of their regions,” Mr Labonte noted.
Talking to Seychelles NATION a few days before the close of 2017, Commissioner Labonte said there is a lot of work to be done to beef up the police force and to restore public confidence and respect in the force.
But he expressed hope and optimism in the capacity, ability and commitment in the men and women under his command.
“The atmosphere in the force has changed to a more positive one and this is in itself very encouraging and I am confident that if we all work together as a team and show commitment to the force and the people we serve, we can take the police force to greater heights and boost public trust and confidence in it,” he pointed out.
Four key areas for action in the short and medium term plan of action
Commissioner Labonte has identified four key areas which he plans to focus on in the short and medium term in his plan of action for the force, something which he has started and will push forward with in the new year.
Discipline
The manner in which police officers conduct themselves is a distinctive character of policing. The way in which police officers behave in their interaction with each other as well as with the general public reflects their level of discipline.
“Discipline is required in the police force to ensure that officers do not become consumed by power, that they continue to obey the laws that they enforce. It is an essential management tool necessary for the proper functioning and good order of the force,” Commissioner Labonte states in the action plan. He adds that an effective and efficient police force is one which is well disciplined thus one which is well trained.
Training
Police officers need to be trained in professionalism and customer service because the very nature of policing requires officers to interact with the general public, thus the need for them to possess problem solving skills while being polite and professional at the same time.
“Police officers must be trained extensively in aspects of law, evidence handling, handcuffing and transporting prisoners, defensive tactics and many other areas of law enforcement,” said Mr Labonte.
In order to improve the quality of training that the police officers receive at the Police Academy, the commissioner of police has engaged the services of two experienced former police officers as instructor and lecturer.
Community policing
Community policing brings police and citizens together to prevent crime and solve problems in the neighbourhood. With community policing, the emphasis is on stopping crime before it happens but not responding to calls for service after a crime has occurred.
The commissioner of police has said he will focus on reestablishing the Special Constabulary Unit which is provided for under the Police Force Act whereby services rendered by civilians will be compensated.
Effective use of resources
The deployment of resources should be informed and targeted to ensure optimal use for maximum effect. This includes both human and physical resources which may be in limited supply.
With regard to visible policing and crime prevention available resources will be deployed to focus on crime advice and awareness campaigns, on conducting special police action operations to prevent crimes, on conducting social crime prevention operations to address ‘the desire to commit crime’ and tracing and arrest of wanted persons.
A new approach to visible policing and crime prevention will be to assess the viability of introducing ‘mobile police unit’ at certain identified high crime areas with the aim of reducing crime rate due to continuous police presence.
In relation to crime investigation resources will be deployed to focus on improving the detection and conviction rate, on reducing the carried over rate, on effective crime scene management, on effective management of exhibits and on improving the informer network.
Improving infrastructural resources
Opening of the new Anse Aux Pins police station in July
In July a new and modern police station providing more work conducive and community-friendly environment opened at Anse Aux Pins.
People of Anse aux Pins, Cascade, Pointe Larue and Au Cap can now benefit from a police station equipped with modern amenities and services delivered in a more community-friendly and comfortable environment. It was former police commissioner Reginald Elizabeth and Macsuzy Mondon, the designated minister who was then responsible for Internal Affairs, who had the honour to unveil the commemorative plaque to officially open the new station.
The new Anse Aux Pins police station is managed by Inspector Vincent Marie, the station commander for the past two and a half years now.
Boosting human resource capacity
Nine officers from the police and other law enforcement agencies, namely the Financial Intelligence Unit, National Drugs Enforcement Agency and the customs department received their certificates during the course of this year after following a week-long training course in cyber-enable financial crimes.
The course was conducted by four experts from the Federal Investigation Bureau (FBI) and the Interpol and was run under the European Union’s Maritime Security MASE programme/Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) framework and financed by the European Union (EU).
It was aimed at building the capacity of the country’s law enforcement agencies involved in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing activities linked to maritime crimes.
Police officers promoted
As a great boost to the police force,109 officers from different units were promoted in a ceremony at the end of August. They were: 42 Constables to Corporal , 32 Corporals to Sergeant, 17 Sergeants to Sub-Inspector, 10 Sub-Inspectors to Inspector, 5 Inspectors to Assistant Superintendent, 2 Assistant Superintendents to Superintendent, 1 Superintendent to Chief Superintendent. François Freminot will now take over the overall Commander role of CID replacing one of the foreign officers, Christaan Marx (whose contract just ended) who has been mentoring him for about 2 and a half years before then.
“Promotion is acknowledgement and incentive for hard work, commitment and dedication which you have earned. Hard work and dedication does not end with promotion but signifies more responsibilities and obligations. Continue to set a good example and be a role model to your subordinates.
“Always give the public your very best service. Remember our motto is: service without fear, favour or ill-will,” Commissioner Elizabeth told the officers then.
“Despite a lot of challenges, let us keep our focus and not be distracted. As members of the Seychelles Police Force we will continue in the fight against crime and remain committed to keeping our communities safer.
“Let us put all our efforts together to strive for excellence and making the Seychelles Police Force a more professional organisation,” he added.
These are values that Commissioner Labonte is also upholding.
As 2017 comes to a close he has wished all the women and men in uniform a happy and prosperous New Year with their families, asking them to celebrate responsibly noting that he is looking forward to their full and renewed commitment next year to continue to up the standard of the force.
As for members of the public Commissioner Labonte is calling on them to please celebrate in an orderly manner, to always be mindful and attentive to others who may not be in a position to celebrate for different reasons such as grief, illness, old age or other ailments.