Seychelles Police President calls for a disciplined force |08 January 2020

The meeting in progress (Photo: Joena Meme)

By Vidya Gappy

President Danny Faure has urged police officers to put in more effort in terms of personal discipline and collective discipline to improve professionalism and create a good image for the force.

This was during a meeting President Faure had yesterday with Police Commissioner Kishnan Labonte, the deputy commissioners, the commanders and all responsible of the stations.

All those attending the meeting were taken by surprise as they did not know they were going to meet the President. They were told to report to the Central Police Station at 8.45am and then they were taken to State House for the meeting.

Briefing the media afterwards on the outcome of the meeting, public relations and communications manager, Jean Toussaint, said:

“It is the first time such a meeting takes place and we are all happy for it. President Faure thanked the officers for the quality of service they are offering to society and the services that senior officers have given over time. He expressed his appreciation for their contributions and their efforts in reducing the crime rate. He took the opportunity to thank the department of police through the commanders who are in these challenging positions and giving back to our community.”

During the meeting, much emphasis was put on the declaration of this year as the year of discipline within the force whereby all officers should put in more effort in terms of personal discipline and collective discipline to improve professionalism and create a good image for the force and offer a more efficient service in terms of response.

“Some of the wishes put forth by President Faure to the officers were to improve security and aspire for a stable community,” Mr Toussaint said.

“The commanders, who go on site, also expressed some concerns with regard to their limitations and made some propositions to address those concerns. I think that all the officers who attended the meeting this morning will come from here with lots of hope and are looking forward to the year ahead,” Mr Toussaint said.

Asked about the challenges within the department, Mr Toussaint didn’t shed much light on the various weaknesses of the force, noting that this can potentially impact negatively on operations.

Talking about the festive season, the police spokesperson noted that 2019 ended with one fatal accident but not many serious casualties.