The Police Training Center:
Orient to the Community Police?
Fundasaun Mahein (FM), 26 February 2015
Press Release
The PNTL strategic plan for 2014-2018 defines the types of police that adopts the qualities of VIP (visibility, involvement and professionalism). The importance of VIP is to ensure that the police are visible and are seen to secure the communities and will lead to greater participation from all stakeholders. These actions will also aim to increase professionalism so that the police services will better satisfy the communities.
The strategic plan’s philosopy is that the community policing approach will apply to all members of the PNTL an not just the specific community police department and affects the PNTL approach when working with institutions and between PNTL and communities.
This philosophy will aim to become a concrete philosophy of the police’s services and leaves an important role of the police training center (PTC) to fulfill. This PNTL School that has a special responsibility to provide training such as moral, culture, physics and technique professional to officers, sergeants and agents also keep maintain the value of their awareness in this community policing approach.
Supported by the development partners The PTC has provided training to PNTL and has continued to 2015, 35 courses have been completed with 81 classes since its establishment. The training period for those recruited agents is done for one (1) year which is composed of two (2) months in Rai-Robo-Atabae-Bobonaro, 8 months at the PTC Dili, and two (2) months pre-training to be agents for the PNTL institution members.
This training has become very important for those cadets training become police officers, providing basic knowledge and training over the course of the year. The two months training in Rairobo is to become familiar with the law and discipline while the eight months at PTC Dili is to teach ideals and complete training as well as the basic services of the police.
The formation period for those recruited agents compared with the previous training before establishing this PNTL institution shows very significant progress, not least that training lasts for a year before police officers assume their function at the community. This is concrete proof that the PNTL want to prepare these officers as best they can with the PNTL philosophy before they reach the go into service.
The special training at the PTC, including the community police training as well as the main orientation of the PNTL philosophy, signify that all graduates will follow community policing doctrines when in the field.
The community police training is not only for basic level training but continues at an advanced level as well. The advanced training is about the responsibility of the Police Village Officer (PVO) to visit door to door in socializing people of Timor-Leste in the laws of domestic violence, police school, the drug’s awareness, alcohol as well as how to conduct a basic investigation for any problems that happen in the field.
While this philosophy is clear in policy and law the implementation of this philosophy is yet to take hold. The PNTL needs the community approach in conducting actions because sometimes inconsistencies have emerged in using training and actions in the field. There are different perceptions that are emerging within the PNTL in regards to actions in the community.
There has been a perception from elements of the PNTL that the community police approach is only for the actual community police department. Elements of the Especial Police Unit (EPU) have been informed that their responsibility is to act against any necessary situation, using force to maintain public order.
Elements from the task force are also informed by a similar perception, that the community police approach is only to be done by the community police department. The other perception amongst this task force is that the community police approach is more likely to increase crime and continue giving chances for criminals to commit more crime .
Recommendations
1. Recommends to the PTC to coordinate with the national community police department as well as the main state’s agents in order to increase community police training to the all PNTL departments, including the other national legal chart.
2. Recommends to the PTC to evaluate the training in order to provide training to PNTL especially for units and departments that orient to the PNTL’s philosophy.
For more details, please see the following:
(CLICK HERE FOR FULL REPORT)
Nélson Belo
Executive Director of FM
Web: www.fundasaunmahein.org
E-mail: direktor.mahein@gmail.com
Phone (+670) 7737-4222 or (+670) 77561184
