The government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Interior (MOI) in collaboration with the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS), International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the European Union (EU) has on Thursday 14th October inaugurated the West African Police Information System Data Collection and Registration Centre (WAPIS -DACORE) held at the Joint Operation Centre in Bijilo.
The event was funded by the European Union for implementation of the WAPIS programme by INTERPOL with political and strategic support of ECOWAS aims at strengthening the capacity of the West African Law enforcement authorities to combat transnational crimes and terrorism through enhanced police information management and sharing.
In his opening statement, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Abdoulie Sanyang said that the WAPIS system provides a platform for electronic management and sharing of information on crimes among actors both locally and internationally. IGP Sanyang added that the WAPIS system is not only meant to ensure effective networking amongst national actors but also connecting with other law enforcement institutions within participating countries in the region and beyond. And this would be under the coordination of the INTERPOL global communications system, allowing effective and efficient collaboration to especially combat transnational organize crimes.
Speaking on behalf of the Secretary General of INTERPOL, the head of the WAPIS Programme, Mr. Richard Gotwe, said the WAPIS program was launched in September 2012 during the West African Political Committee General Meeting in Abuja. He explained that in 2017 the WAPIS programme was implemented in all the 15 West African countries including The Gambia, and since then the Gambia authorities have worked so hard within the implementation framework of WAPIS in the country. In order to complement the efforts of The Gambia, Mr. Gotwe stated that INTERPOL has deployed 40 work stations to GID, DLEAG and GPF in the Greater Banjul Area , where , 6 training sessions for 72 security personnel was conducted on the use of the system . He added that objective of the WAPIS programme in The Gambia is to support the Gambia law enforcement agency in the collection, storage analysis and sharing of electronic criminal data among themselves with the ultimate goal of combating all forms of crimes.
Also speaking at the ceremony was the Honourable Minister Of Interior, Mr. Yankuba JN Sonko. He said the WAPIS Data Collection and Registration Centre (DACORE) project in The Gambia would enhance police operations and serve as a platform for exchange of information, sharing of experiences and best practices.
Minister Sonko stated that this new development demonstrates President Adama Barrow and his government’s commitment towards ensuring maintenance of national, regional and global peace and security.
He therefore disclosed the main objective of the WAPIS programme which is to increase the capacity of West African law enforcement authorities; combat transnational crimes and terrorism through sharing of information
He went further explained that cognizant to the importance of the programme in enhancing regional peace and security, the Government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Interior has adopted the WAPIS project and signed an MOU in 2019 which has led to the establishment of this newly inaugurated Data Collection and Registration Centre (DACORE ) in The Gambia .
He further stressed that the DACORE system would immensely enhance the capability of security agencies to curb illicit trafficking activities, terrorism and illegal armed grouping in the regions, penetrations in international drug trafficking networks, proliferation of small arms and light weapons among other threats of grave concern to individuals and countries within the region and beyond.
‘’Therefore, this project is very timely as it will immensely boost the efforts of regional and global security cooperation against insecurity caused by threats from the transnational organized criminal networks. This including maritime related crimes likes piracy and other illicit activities at seas and the coast of West Africa, more extensively at the Gulf of Guinea’’. He thanked the EU, ECOWAS and other key partners for their support towards ensuring the establishment of the DACORE project in The Gambia.
The Ecowas Representative to The Gambia, Mrs. Vabah Gayflor said that the inauguration of the DACORE project is a significant step in the right direction as the police in West Africa are trying to move entirely from analogue to digital system of technology to facilitate the collection, analysis, management and dissemination of police information for the utilization of national law enforcement agencies through the national WAPIS electronic system.
She further stated that the fight against crime has reached an unprecedented level of complexity which requires new strategies to protect the people thus these collaborative efforts of relevant stakeholders would contribute tremendously in the maintenance of peace and security as the country prepares to conduct national presidential elections in December 2021.
“I am of the firm conviction that with this facility, the Gambia Police Force will now make maximum use of relevant qualitative and quantitative data to effectively and efficiently address the fundamental issues that undermine human security in the country.”
The European Union Ambassador to The Gambia, Mr. Corrado Pampaloni said organized crimes and terrorism have no border, thus the WAPIS database can help improve security situation in the country and should be a priority of the national security strategy. He encouraged the Gambian authorities to take steps to ensure that the use of WAPIS is mandatory to quickly adopt it nationwide.