Over two dozen station commanders and leaders from different units in the police force have completed a management and leadership performance training programme.

The training programme, which started earlier this year at the Guy Morel Institute at Ma Joie, has come to a close and in a short ceremony at the institute on Tuesday afternoon the group shared their experience and heard testimonies of the few months spent on the programme.

Home Affairs Minister Charles Bastienne, the Commissioner of Police Ernest Quatre, the Dean of the Guy Morel Institute Shella Mohideen, as well as the different lecturers were present to share in the officers’ achievements.

“Revamping our police force to meet our society’s actual and future  needs is a gradual process which demands good planning,” Mr Quatre pointed out, noting that changes carried out so far are proving to be worthy and are yielding good results.

Among the police’s greatest achievements last year was a reduction in crime rate.

Members of the force were also empowered through various training courses and donations of equipment which all contributed towards a successful year.

These were revealed during the Seychelles Police’s annual end of year gathering held on December 30 at the International Conference Centre.

The event was held under the patronage of the Minister for Home Affairs Charles Bastienne, Commissioner of Police Ernest Quatre, assistant commissioners and other high officials in the force.

Retracing the achievements of the force during the year 2015, assistant commissioner for policing, Reginald Elizabeth, highlighted the impressive reduction in crime rate.

Mr Elizabeth said the police recorded a decrease of 21% in crime rate from June to November that year.

The department of police has since last year been undergoing different revisions aimed at having a more professional and effective police force to meet the expectations of people in the community.

The new commissioner of police Reginald Elizabeth said on Friday the revisions were necessary and some of the officers promoted in Friday’s ceremony have been appointed in key positions for the effective functions of the revised structure of the force.

“They are committed and dedicated officers with lots of potentials,” Commissioner Elizabeth said.

He added that in its continued effort to be effective in this day and age the police force is looking towards information technology to raise the standard of its services to the community be it in intelligence gathering, for investigation, to monitor traffic and for general observation.

In relation to the latter he noted that several CCTV cameras have been installed around Victoria for round the clock surveillance to help the police when officers are not present on the scene.

Commissioner Elizabeth said the department of police is also in the process of introducing a new software programme for advanced intelligence gathering of criminal activities. 

To monitor traffic and fight related breach of regulations and crimes, Commissioner Elizabeth said a number plate recognising system will soon be installed to help the central command centre which is currently undergoing a complete revamp.

“The aim is to turn it into our operation centre whereby it can receive, monitor and deal with information, report on any crime reported by any station anywhere,” Commissioner Elizabeth explained.

Also through its agreement with the UNODC, the department of police expects to strengthen and computerise its case management system and to set up better communication with the individuals concerned.

Meanwhile steps to set up a fully-fledged forensic laboratory are well advanced and Commissioner Elizabeth said when operational this will prevent the problems the force is currently experiencing when samples are sent overseas for analysis.

“We are in an advanced stage in the process and hopefully very soon more details on the project will be announced,” Commissioner Elizabeth said.

As certain police officers’ behaviour and attitude towards the public they serve persistently remain a cause for concern, undermining continuous effort by the force to raise its standard and quality of its services to the community, Commissioner Elizabeth said he will continue to seek ways to ensure members of the force go through proper training.

“Earlier this year all officers in charge of police stations around the country followed intensive service delivery training at the Guy Morel Institute and at present they are passing on these knowledge to the men and women under their command,” Commissioner Elizabeth pointed out.

Eight police officers with several years of experience have received their badge of ranks in a short ceremony held yesterday afternoon at the police headquarters in Victoria.

The three women and five men received their badges from the hands of Deputy Commissioner Vernon Hunter and Commissioner Reginald Elizabeth.

The ceremony was held in the presence of Home Affairs Minister Charles Bastienne as well as other high-ranking officers.

They are Sergeant Aubrey Petrousse, who has been promoted to the rank of sub-inspector; sub-inspectors Winnifred Baccarie, Vanessa Anacoura and Marie-Antoinette Gedeon, who have all been promoted to the rank of inspector; Danny Mondon, who has been promoted from inspector to assistant superintendent; Justin Dogley and Jemmy Bouzin, who have moved from the rank of assistant superintendent to that of superintendent; and Superintendent Romano Songore who has been promoted to the rank of chief superintendent, the highest ranking among the group.

A group of young officers from the Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG) and the Marine Police Unit have completed a two-week training conducted by a group of officers from the United States Coast Guard International Division.

Yesterday in a short ceremony attended by the Commissioner of Police Ernest Quatre as well as key officers of the SCG at its base at Ile Perseverance, the young officers received their certificates and boarding officers’ pin.

Three young officers – Andry Esparon, Jerome Philoe (both from the SCG) and Dominic Hess from the Marine Police Unit – were awarded a special honour graduate coin for excellence in the training. They have been selected for further intensive training in their field.

Seychelles is hosting a series of meeting of the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF).

A series of four meetings which started with the EASF Day yesterday at the International Conference Centre (ICCS) will take place during next week.

Delegates from five Eastern African countries including Seychelles are taking part in the meetings.

EASF Day, which is held in different member countries, is a unique opportunity to bring together a cross section of people interested in or working for peace in the Eastern Africa region to learn more, share ideas and experiences on common issues using a unique and effective approach – the Standby Force approach.

Established by governments of Eastern Africa in a shared understanding of the urgent need to provide security and peace for the region, the EASF is mandated to address present security threats and conflicts and prevent future conflicts from escalating into large scale military conflicts, civil wars and genocide.

The Seychelles Police Force are now more equipped to deal with such issues as pirates hand-over after a joint training exercise with the Japanese Coast Guard.

The exercise took place earlier this week at the Seychelles International Airport in the presence of dignitaries from Japan and Seychelles.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Japan and Seychelles covering the conditions of transfer of seized property of suspected pirates was signed in 2014. The agreement covers issues such as pirates capture by the Japanese Navy, trial and possible conviction and repatriation to Somalia.

The scenario during this week’s exercise was that of two pirates who had been captured by the Japanese Coast Guard and taken into custody, along with evidence.  The Japanese Coast Guard then handed over the pirates and evidence to the Seychelles Police Force.

The Marine Police Unit now has a permanent base on the east Mahé coast.

This follows the opening yesterday of a satellite station at Roche Caïman, opposite Eden Island. 

The new facilities, which have been sponsored by Eden Island Development Company (EIDC), add to the unit’s headquarters on Bois de Rose Avenue and another station on Praslin.

Consisting of an office, a cell plus shower and toilet facilities, they are equipped with communication and first aid equipment. Two speed boats are also permanently based there.

Law enforcement, defence and security personnel from the region are now better equipped to combat terrorism after attending a seminar on the subject.

The five-day trans-regional seminar on combatting terrorism was organised by

the Joint Special Operations University (JSOU), the Defence Combatting Terrorism Fellowship (CTFP) and the US embassy.

It took place from August 29 to September 2 at the Coast Guard Training Base at Ile Perseverance.

The 30 delegates from Morocco, Afghanistan, Benin, Cameroun, Kenya, Mali, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Nigeria and Seychelles received their certificate on Friday at the close of the seminar.

During the seminar, the delegates were able to identify and analyse regional and trans-regional combatting terrorism capabilities, challenges and opportunities.

Present at the certificate presentation ceremony were the Chief of Staff of the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF) Colonel Michael Rosette, the Joint Special Operation at the University of Tampa, Florida Carlos Burgos, along with senior SPDF and police officers.

Eleven police officers and recruits gave blood yesterday as part of activities to commemorate Police Day which falls on September 21.

Twenty-five people responded to the call but out of this number only 11 were eligible to donate blood.

This blood drive was organised by the Seychelles Police and the Blood Transfusion Unit (BTU) of the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Seychelles Police health and safety officer, Jeanine Maria, said she is satisfied with the outcome as she would have deemed it to be unsuccessful if no one had turned up but however she had hoped for a higher turnout.

“I think that most of them could not turn up since they have been working very hard during the election period so it’s understandable that they could not come. However next time I would like more of them to make the effort,” she said.

Although some may argue that this is a small contribution it should be noted that the police department make it a habit throughout the year to donate blood upon request of the public or Ministry of Health.

When it comes to request for blood Mrs Maria said the person usually approaches an officer they feel more comfortable to do so who then liaises with her. After that she reaches out to the Ministry of Health who prepares a date for the officers to come donate blood.

Moreover, a health and safety unit which serves as mini clinic for the officers was opened in May this year.

This clinic, headed by Mrs Maria herself who is a qualified nurse by profession, eases daily screening and health talks in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Drug & Alcohol Council (Dac) and other departments.