Fifteen female Police Officers and five female Immigration attachés Monday began a two-week training workshop on theory-by practice on prosecuting skills, knowledge and practical approaches to court at the Police Headquarters in Banjul.
The training seeks to address the prevailing gender parity in the prosecuting unit.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Abdoulie Sanyang, the Commissioner of Administration at the Gambia Police Forces on behalf of the Inspector General of Police said in criminal justice system, the police play a vital role. He said if the police fail to do their job there will be no justice as there will be no proper prosecuting and at the end of the day nobody will be convicted.
“We have realized in the past that we were not doing proper policing because our personnel can’t do it. We realize that we did not create the opportunity or we did not give them the necessary equipment so as to do policing in this country properly. The senior management of the Gambia Police Force realized the gaps that are everywhere. The intention of the management therefore, is to build capacities across the board. We have a new dispensation in The Gambia and policing also need to change and if policing need to change we need to have a capacities and knowledge so that we can do properly policing” Commissioner Sanyang stated.
He assured of the high command’s readiness to change the Police Force saying they want to transform the GPF to be one of the best in the sub-region.
“We believe we can do it because we have the capacity to do it. All we need is the funding. Prosecuting is a noble professor done by lawyers and police prosecutors” he said.
Ousman Gibba, Commissioner for Prosecution and Legal Affairs dilated on the significance of the training and urged participants to make best use of the training and to implement the knowledge gain in their respective stations.
“This training is exclusively significant because it is targeting women. It is a clear manifestation of the spirit of closing the gender gaps,” he said.
Commissioner Gibba said they only have few female police prosecutors, saying it is a fundamental priority for the high command in ensuring that no officer regardless of rank or is disadvantage on gender bases is been discriminated.
Inspector Aminata LB Ceesay, the Assistant Station Officer, at the Gender and Child Welfare Unit who is also the guest speaker described the training as timely as the police is undergoing series of transformation in human resources and capacity building.
She said the empowerment of women should be everybody business.
“I want to thank the command of the GPF for their foresight effort in empowering the women in the security services. The participation of women in peace and security is paramount as stated in the UN Resolution. It is through this local training the high command of the GPF recognizes your commitment and if there is an oversea programmes, due to your commitment you will be selected” she said.
Superintendent Momodou Mballow, Course Coordinator also spoke at the opening ceremony while Police Public Relation officer Inspector Foday Conta chaired the ceremony.
