The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), will prioritize the development of Policy documents including Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), training and enhancing community policing initiatives to support Somali Police Officers to effectively discharge their duties and fully takeover security responsibilities.
ATMIS Police Commissioner, CP Hillary Sao Kanu made the remarks, when she addressed Somali journalists at the Police Headquarters in Mogadishu.
“Our top priority in addition to training is to support with Policy documents including Standard Operating Procedures for the SPF that will guide them and enable them to operate successfully in their day-to-day duties. Another priority is to provide support in establishing Community Policing by having close relations with  local communities,†CP Kanu said.
“With the ongoing operations by Somali Security forces, it is important to bolster relations with the various communities so they can share information which will help in the in the fight against violent extremisâ€, she noted.
The Police Commissioner noted that, one of the biggest achievements of the AU Police over the past 16 years, was securing the election process and the continued improved standards of the SPF.
“We have seen remarkable progress in people having the confidence to report crime to the police†said CP Kanu.
At the event, the ATMIS Police Commissioner outlined the activities and achievements of the ATMIS Police component since the beginning of the year.
Among them, is the training and conducting of refresher courses for middle-level officers and recruits of the Somali Police Force, both at the Federal and State levels, noting that a total of 218 Somali Police officers had been trained in the first three months of this year.
The SPF officers were trained in various aspects of their work, including computer applications in policing; prevention and countering violent extremism through community policing, and fingerprints training for the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) personnel.
Other achievements, she noted, include the commissioning and handing over of a newly constructed police station in Jowhar in Hirshabelle State and conducting a series of capacity-building workshops for the police in Mogadishu, and Jubaland State.
“We have also supported the training and passing out of 151 recruits in Jubaland in Kismayo,†CP Kanu said.
ATMIS police is mandated to support training, advising, mentoring and provision of operational support to the SPF including joint patrols and protection of vital installations in line with the Somali Transition Plan.
Present at the event was the ATMIS Police Chief of Staff, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Lanre Ogunlowo; the ATMIS Police Operations and FPU Coordinator, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Ahmed Lateef; ATMIS Police Training and Development Coordinator, ACP Asiedu Okanta Samuel and the ATMIS Police Reform Restructuring and Development Coordinator, ACP John Simon.
