The newly appointed Minister for Home Affairs Mitcy Larue yesterday continued her visits of the various police stations around Mahé.

Minister Larue and her delegation comprising Commissioner of Police Reginald Elizabeth, special advisor Sheryl Vangadasamy, among other police officers started their visit at the station at the Seychelles International Airport (SIA), Pointe Larue and ended at the Mont Fleuri police station.

The purpose of the familiarisation visit was to inspect the environment in which the police officers are working as well as to find out how best the ministry could assist the police to improve services.

At the airport’s station Minister Larue got the opportunity to interact with staff  and listened attentively to their problems.

“Since I am the new Minister for Home Affairs, it was an opportunity for me to visit the police family, as part of an ongoing visit. I need to make sure that I visit each unit that falls under my department, and for me to see first hand what kind of activities and services each department is offering to the public. It also gives me an opportunity to dialogue with the staff. I must continue the splendid work that my colleague minister Charles Bastienne has done so far,” she said.

She pointed out that much work needs to be done to bring the police department to the next level.

“During my visit I was made aware of some issues that my ministry will have to resolve such as the lack of resources. The police department is working on a new pilot programme at the Central Police Station to reduce the shift of the staff from four to three, due to the fact that working in the police department can be exhausting. So this new programme will give the officers an opportunity to be more pro-active, and more rest time,” she said.

The minister concluded her visit at the Mont Fleuri police station where she got the opportunity to interact with the staff personally in a closed door meeting to discuss about their problems.

“The Mont Fleuri district is an area that has got a lot of crime, and we need more workforce to reduce the amount of work the officers currently have to do. Also we have many issues in the traffic section; we are having many fatal accidents this year. We will have to put in place a national education programme on the need for the public to take their road safety more seriously. Make sure that people do not drive drunk, wear their seatbelts among many other pertinent issues.  In terms of crime in each station that I have visited the level of crime is reducing, but our target is to continue such great job, make sure our citizens are safe,” she said.

She added that the Mont Fleuri police station will be renovated completely to make sure that each section in the police department has their own area and space to accommodate their work. Also in 2018 the airport will have a better police station.

The accompanying photos show Minister Larue and her entourage during their visits.

A group of 60 officers from the Seychelles Police, including the Public Security Support Wing (PSSW), graduated yesterday after completing 18 months of training at the Seychelles Police Academy (SPA).

The graduation ceremony was held at the SPA at Pointe Larue in the presence of President Danny Faure, the Minister for Home Affairs Charles Bastienne, the Commissioner of Police Reginald Elizabeth, high ranking officers and parents of the graduates.

The subjects covered during the training included profession of police officer in the Seychelles context, self defence and restraining skills, human rights, acts, laws, rules and regulations in the context of policing, among other subjects.

The ceremony started and ended with a parade inspected by President Faure.

There were special prizes for outstanding performance: Trevor Rose won the President’s Cup, the award for Most Disciplined went to Frances Freminot, Best Academic went to Shawn Woodcock  and Most Improved went to Rose Albert.

Eighteen officers have learned new techniques in crime scene investigation and enhanced their knowledge of crime management on land and on vessels at sea.

This came about through a training workshop conducted by Interpol.

The officers who received the training were from the Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG), Marine Police, CID (Criminal Investigation Department) and scientific support.

This training was part of CRIMLEA I project launched in 2011 and funded by the European Union to the tune of EURO 1.6 million, contributing to enhance the capabilities of our allies in the region by giving their different administrations ways to combat piracy at sea.

The government recognises the hard work and sacrifices that the police officers have to make in order to safeguard our country and nation and to ensure that peace, security and stability reign in our country.

This is the gist of the Police Day message by Home Affairs Minister Charles Bastienne to all police officers on Police Day, celebrated yesterday.

The minister’s message reads:

“Today Seychelles joins the rest of the world to observe the International Day of Peace, a significant day also for the Police Force in the Seychelles.

“For some years now, the local force has adopted September 21 as Police Day in Seychelles.

“It’s fitting to commemorate both the International Day of Peace and Police Day on the same day, as one of the main mandates of this law enforcement agency is to ensure peace at all times in our beloved Seychelles.

“The government and myself recognise the hard work and sacrifices that the police officers have to make in order to safeguard our country and nation and to ensure that peace, security and stability reign in our country.

“Such was obvious in the recent events hosted in our country such as the political campaigns and elections, where these men and women in uniform worked tirelessly, braving long hours and difficult and intimidating situations.

“In addition, a lot have been achieved in recent years to bring down crime level and to render our communities safer.

The new Anse aux Pins police station has been described as more work conducive and community-friendly.

Equipped with modern amenities, the new station which was inaugurated yesterday will serve the communities of Anse aux Pins, Cascade, Pointe Larue and Au Cap.

It was the Commissioner of Police Reginald Elizabeth and Designated Minister Macsuzy Mondon, who also holds the ministerial portfolio for Home Affairs, who had the honour of unveiling the commemorative plaque to officially open the station.

They were later guided on a tour of the building to inspect the facilities.

The names of the two American women found dead in their villas have been released to the media by the police who are continuing their investigation.

According to police spokesman Jean Toussaint, on Thursday 22, 2016, the Korkky sisters – Ann Marie (38) and Robin Marie (42) – were found unresponsive in their villa at the Maia Luxury Resort and Spa.

“The police were informed about this incident at around noon and immediately emergency services were called to the scene where they (the two sisters) were certified dead by a doctor,” said Mr Toussaint.

The sisters were here on holiday since September 15 and were originally expected to leave on Thursday 22, but had extended their stay till Saturday September 24.

Mr Toussaint added that according to the butler assigned to the villa of the sisters, when he arrived at the villa at 8.45am the sliding door was locked the same way as he left it the night before, but as the day went by he noticed there was still no movement in the room so he informed his supervisor who then informed the management who proceeded to calling the police.

“From the observation done by our police officers, there was no disturbance in the room and the two sisters were found unresponsive on the same bed,” he said.

A 34-year-old man of Pointe Larue is admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) following an accident yesterday at Providence in the vicinity of the entrance to Sunshine House.

The accident, which occured at around 7.50am, involved a Canter pick-up truck with four people on board and an AE100 car carrying two including the driver.

According to police spokesperson Jean Toussaint the accident occurred when the AE100 car heading towards town left its lane and collided into the pick-up truck travelling in the opposite direction.

Investigation is underway to establish the exact circumstance of the accident.

The victim in ICU, the driver of the car, has sustained head and abdominal internal injuries and his condition has been described as critical.

Five other persons -- the car passenger and the four in the pick-up -- also reported to casualty for medical attention. Two of them have been admitted on the ward while the three others have been released.

The Seychelles' authorities are investigating the deaths of two American women who were found “unresponsive” in their hotel room yesterday, the police said.

The two sisters, aged 38 and 42, were on holiday in Seychelles and were staying in a villa at the Maia Luxury Resort and Spa.

“They were certified dead by the doctor at the Anse Boileau health centre where they had been transported for examination,” police spokesman Jean Toussaint said in a statement.

“Preliminary examination done by the police on the bodies of the two Americans is not showing any signs of violence,” adds the statement.

The incident was reported to the police at around midday by the management of the tourism establishment.

More than a month after being reported missing Marvin Asba has still not been found and on Thursday evening an expert in forensics and missing persons, Brigadier Leonie Ras from South Africa, arrived in the country to help in the case.

The expert, who was recommended to the Seychelles Police by Interpol following a request for help the local police made last month, is accompanied by two expert dog handlers specialised in search and rescue ‒ warrant officers Van Rooyen and Prinsloo whose dogs are trained in detecting a person on and below the ground as well as in the water.

Yesterday morning the team was briefed by police commissioner Reginald Elizabeth and the CID officer leading the investigation as well as other officers working on the case.

Speaking to the local press soon after the briefing, Commissioner Elizabeth said it has taken some time for the expert to arrive as there are procedures to follow and the expert had to conclude work on important cases she was working on before being granted authorisation from her superiors to travel here.

Commissioner Elizabeth said the experts have received a detailed overview of the case from the day the young man was reported missing, all the investigation that  has taken place up to now so they could add their input and decide on how to conduct their own investigation.

Prison reforms, setting a juvenile and female detention remand facility, reviewing the existing Prisons Act and the need to fully engage and set up a rehabilitation process within the prison system that engages as many inmates as possible were the focus of discussions held last week between a United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) expert in prison management, William Cullen, and Home Affairs Minister Mitcy Larue.

The meeting was attended by the Superintendent of Seychelles Prison Services, Vic Tirant, and the minister’s special advisor for prisons, Raymond St Ange.

The meeting provided an opportunity for Minister Larue to receive a briefing from Mr Cullen on progress made during his current mission to support of the Seychelles’ government efforts to reform the prison services.

In February this year, Superintendent Tirant submitted a Prison Reform Plan which details the strategic vision, aims and objectives of the prison services as well as seeking to reduce the financial burden on the government’s budget by becoming more efficient and self-sufficient.

The Prison Reform Plan aims for the Seychelles Prisons Services to set up a proper detention facility to manage female and juvenile remands.

Minister Larue commissioned a detention remand facility for male remands at the Bois de Rose police base this week.

“The new detention remand facility will manage male remands but work however continues as we now seek the assistance of the UNODC on how best to address the care and management of juveniles who are remanded into custody awaiting trial,” said Minister Larue.

Minister Larue admitted that the Seychelles Prisons Services lacked the necessary logistics to fully manage juveniles in a specialised setting and also taking into consideration the care and special needs of juveniles on remand as required by Prison Reform Plan.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is to work close consultation with the Ministry of Family Affairs and other partners such as the UNODC, the Seychelles Judiciary, the National Assembly and NGO’s with children’s care and child protection as their mission, to specifically address a purpose built facility for juveniles with the best suggested management practices in regard to the custodial care of juveniles.

“We simply cannot place guards and ‘manhandle’ juveniles and have to think to achieve the best results in reforming juveniles while in our care.  We must ensure that we have well caring, mindful persons who can play an active part in the efforts that we want to put in place,” Minister Larue said.