A TOTAL of 53 Law Enforcement Officers of the Honiara City Council (HCC) are undergoing a three-week training facilitated by the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) at the Rove Police Academy in Honiara.
The training commenced on Monday and the 53 officers are the second intake of HCC recruits to undergo training at the Police Academy.
The 53 officers comprise 22 serving officers and 33 new recruits of which 11 are female.
In his remarks at the induction, the Deputy Mayor and Chairman of Law Enforcement Division Councilor (Cr) Robert Oge thanked the national government for its wisdom and forward thinking which enabled Parliament to pass the crucial HCC second amendment Bill 2023.
“We can now reflect and say that the Pacific Games 2023 has truly brought in needed changes, especially in the city council.”
Cr Oge thanked RSIPF for once again hosting the second cohorts of the HCC Law Enforcement Division at the Police Academy.
“I know that RSIPF has its recruit intake coming in a few weeks but again big thank you for allowing us to use your training facilities and your hard-working facilitators. This reflects that the collaboration between our two organizations is purely intact,” he added.
Cr Oge explained that in July 2023, Parliament passed the HCC second amendment Bill and this law now allows the Minister [of Home Affairs] to appoint HCC Law Enforcement officers.
“The purpose of the law is to further strengthen the Law Enforcement Division and place greater emphasis on high visibility and presence in our city,” he added.
The Deputy Mayor said the amendment act gives greater responsibility to the HCC Law Enforcement team to ensure a safe, green and peaceful Honiara.
In terms of dealing with public order management and enforcement of the various HCC ordinances, he said these are no easy tasks for HCC but the training provided by RSIPF will be will boost capability of HCC Law Enforcement Officers to carry out their duties after they graduate.
On that note Cr Oge wished the 53 HCC Law Enforcement Officers all the best in their training with the RSIPF.
“It is indeed a time to reflect on what has transpired towards the end of last year 2023 to see the fruition of our collective effort today,” he added.
(HCC/SOLSTAR)
