UNPOL in action: Police in Gogrial receive training to fortify crime-fighting skills

SSNPS officers in Kuacjok enact a crime scene investigation exercise during training this week.

11 Oct 2019

UNPOL in action: Police in Gogrial receive training to fortify crime-fighting skills

Manyang Mayom

Law enforcement officers in Kuacjok are sharpening their policing skills as they seek to better investigate and curb crime and promote justice.

 

“This is a positive step. It is lifesaving training,” said Santino Tong, one of the officers who participated in the training.

 

Organised by the UN Police (UNPOL) Division serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Kuacjok, the two-day training brought together over 30 participants, drawn from different units of South Sudan National Police Service in the area.

 

Besides investigating and curbing gender-based violence, the training covered investigation tactics, including maintaining the integrity of a crime scene.

 

The UNPOL team leader in Kuacjok, Assistant Superintendent of Police William Ayaregah, noted that crime increases when proper investigation is not done, impeding the delivery of justice to poor people. He said this training would boost investigation units to help them protect and present the right evidence to the courts of law.

 

“We are training them on crime scene investigation and gender-based violence related matters so that they can manage cases according to international standards,” said Mr. Ayaregah.

 

Colonel Manyual Angong Mabuoc, Head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Kuacjok, who took part in the two-day workshop, acknowledged the work of UNMISS, describing the training as a “well done job”.

 

He promised to instruct personnel in his department to ensure adherence to high standards and ensure justice is served, upon completion of the training.

 

His said his department was paralyzed due to lack of training and insufficient tools of work.

 

“Problems are common,” lamented Mabuoc. “Lack of trained CID personnel damages the institution,” he noted, appreciating the UN Police for training his staff.

 

Meanwhile a female participant, Lieutenant Colonel Aciec Chan, urged South Sudanese authorities to recruit more women into police work, citing the ease with which women express themselves to female police officers during investigations.

 

“There are confidential issues that a woman cannot speak about to a man at the investigation desk. Let women be recruited and trained so that they can handle or investigate fellow women,” said Achan, adding, “A woman can reduce a fellow woman’s trauma by talking to her, but a man might bring her more pain,” she noted, without elaborating.