About 30 officers from the Gambia Police Force are taking part in a four-day training on First Aid operations, organised by the Gambia Red Cross Society, as part of their contributions to equip the personnel of the police force on First Aid operations.
The four-day training, which began on Monday at the Police Headquarters in Banjul, brought together officers from the Traffic Police and Police Intervention Unit across the country.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Commissioner of Administration, Abdoulie Sanyang, who spoke on behalf of the Inspector General of Police, Yankuba Sonko, underscored the importance of the training, especially for traffic police officers.
“Over the years, the police command has been providing training on First Aid and the international law for their officers,” Sanyang said.
Noting that the training would not only help the officers in the traffic areas, but also those at mission centres around the world, he said, the reason why they decided to involve international laws and human rights was to help the officers implement the laws to know how to protect the detainees when they are at mission areas.
Regarding community policing, Sanyang said, the skills gained during the training would help the police to engage communities in anything they are doing when it comes to community policing.
For his part, Bai Cham, the Secretary-General of the Gambia Red Cross Society, said his organisation is mandated to give First Aid training to the personnel of the Gambia Police Force.
“As we all know, the rate of accidents is on the increase every day, so therefore, the Gambia Red Cross Society finds it necessary to conduct training for the personnel of the Gambia Police Force, especially traffic officers, who are always witnessing accidents,” he said.
He said the Gambia Red Cross Society had over the years been partnering with the Gambia Police and therefore found it prudent to organise such training.
ASP David Kujabi, the Public Relations Officer of the Gambia Police Force also expressed similar sentiment.