By Yang Ater Yang
Inspector General of Police, Gen. Atem Marol Biar has ordered refresher training for 1,000 police officers in the four Greater Bahr el Ghazal states with immediate effect.
Gen. Marol made this announcement on Tuesday in Lakes State, Rumbek as he continues with his tour of states.
He said each state must identify trainees from people aged 50 years or older after passing a medical check-up.
Biar emphasized the importance of training police soldiers on rules and regulations, as well as maintaining peace.
“I want to prepare the police incase when a government wants do something and the government calls the police to help the military or military comes to our aid as a police then the police must be equal with military,” he said.
After refreshment training, he promised to mix the deployment of police.
He stressed that the peace in the state created by the state governor General Rin Tueny Mabor must be maintained by those who know the rule of law and are trained well.
Biar also warned traffic police from asking for money from moving vehicles on the road in South Sudan.
He stated that traffic police law globally requires that vehicles with no brakes, lights, lock books, or number plates be stopped, and warned that not every vehicle moving on the road can be stopped.
For his part, the police commissioner of Lakes State, Maj. Gen. James Madut Ngor urged the IGP to provide arms to the police, stating that some police officers are moving with sticks.
Gen. Atem Marol Biar’s visit to Lakes State and other areas in the Bahr el Ghazal region aimed to improve the police force and maintain peace.
Gen Marol started his interstate tour on Wednesday last week as part of his six-month plan to measure the progress and challenges facing the police in ten states and three administrative areas.
In his 21-day plan, the IGP focused on eliminating the operations of criminal gangs such as ‘Toronto Boys’ and ‘Niggas’.
Also, in the 90-day plan, Gen Atem plans to establish police outposts along all four roads that lead to Juba city.
Meanwhile, in his six-month plan, he would focus on training the police forces, especially those who were transferred from SSPDF and deployed without proper policing training.