By Arret Jatta
The Gambia Police Force with support from GIZ German Cooperation, on Tuesday, 27th August 2024 commenced a three-day validation workshop with external stakeholders on the draft police bill in Kololi.
In his welcoming remarks, the Inspector General of Police, Sainey Muctarr Touray emphasized the need for a new bill noting that the current act has been there for the past seventy-five years.
“Today is a historic day in the annals of policing in the Gambia, for close to one hundred and twenty years since the creation of the River Police in 1855 by the British colonial administration, the police force has been governed mainly by legislation promulgated by the colonial power. The current police act was enacted in 1949, 16 years before the Gambia gained independence from the British government in 1965,” he highlighted.
Also, he disclosed that the current police Act had been enacted seven times, however, the rise of new crimes demands a new Act.
“The current act was amended seven times between 1949 and 1986 to cater to the challenges in policing demand of the people. 1986 to date is a lifetime, a great deal has changed in the intervening period in terms of the nature of crime and technological advances. Crimes like cyberbullying, identity theft, internet fraud, and distributed denial of services were unheard of 30 years ago,” he added.
Teresa Oebert, a representative from GIZ also noted that the revision of the Police Act aims to align the legislation with current realities.
“The updated act seeks to consolidate the legal framework to better serve the needs and mandate of the Gambian police force,” she said.
She added that the objective of the Bill is to strengthen the capacity of police officers, to serve and protect the citizens by democratic police principles.
The consultant and also a former Minister of Interior, MrYankuba Sonko highlighted some of the objectives of the Bill.
“The objective is to provide for a more efficient and effective police force that will be based on the principles of accountability and transparency, respect and protection of human rights and to partner with the community and other security services that are the main objectives of the Bill,” he said.
The police force, he added, will be accountable to the laws of the Gambia and for its service delivery, in line with the policing needs with various communities they serve.