On 16th November Sergeant Goodman and Inspector Howes from the Royal Gibraltar Police left for The Gambia, continuing with a twice annual visit to the East African nation as part of an initiative to train police officers who have applied to be deployed to Darfur under the United Nations umbrella. Arriving in Banjul, The Gambia on 17th November in what will be part of a gruelling training programme under the sweltering heat expected in The Gambia. This will be Sgt Goodman's second visit to The Gambia keeping the continuity of the training delivered in The Gambia. The visit is the first of its kind for Inspector Howes. This will also be fourth such visit by officers from the Royal Gibraltar Police who have been assisting the Royal Gibraltar Regiment in training the Gambian Police officers for peacekeeping missions in Darfur (Sudan).
Darfur is a troubled area of conflict in South Western Sudan. Sudan is the largest country in Africa with a landmass similar in size to the whole of Western Europe. The Darfur region itself is almost the size of France. The conflict involves Arabs from the North of the country with tribes in the south. It is estimated that over 300,000 persons have been killed in the conflict, which began in 2003 and over 2.5 million people displaced. The two RGP Officers, who go as part of a larger contingency force formed by Royal Gibraltar Regiment Officers. The RGP officers will be operating at Yundun Barracks which is an Army Barrack where all the training will be taking place. The facilities have been provided by Commissioner Mammoun Jobe who is in charge of training in The Gambia.
Yundum Barracks are some 40km from the officer's accommodation. Class sizes have ranged from 150 - 300. Unexpected shortages in electrical supplies, lack of equipment, no air conditioning as well as a cramped classroom environment, alongside the scorching heat have all made the environment for training somewhat hostile in appearance for officers, although they have adapted well.
However, officers from the RGP, who have had little publicity of their own presence at the training camps have always returned highlighting the friendly environment of officers being trained and the surrounding neighbourhood.
Before the two RGP officers left for The Gambia Detective Sergeant Goodman from the Royal Gibraltar Police gave his views on the visit.
Q - In your last visit what struck you the most about your visit?
Sgt Goodman - "The willingness to learn shown by all the officers" who attended our training. Our classroom consisted of 150 officers, male and female, from the rank of Constable to Superintendent who have applied to be deployed to Darfur (Sudan) under the umbrella of the United Nations.
Q - How difficult was it to train classes considering the differences in ambience between Gibraltar and The Gambia?
Sgt Goodman - "Difficult? Imagine at first there weren't enough chairs, no rest room, no cafeteria, 150 officers in the same room in summer, heat, no air conditioning, electrical supply is interrupted when you least expect it and you see yourself in a very dark room with no lights (no electricity), none of the ceiling fans working and some of the officers suffering from malaria or diarrhoea and no fridge.
Our bottled water gets warm by the minute and its extremely warm and humid, nevertheless the officers patiently remain on their seats absorbing our lectures and taking notes with the pens and note books provided by us. They are very much switched on, us they ask many questions. From the 150 of the officers that we had I would say that maybe only 3 to 5 of them own a laptop and a third do not know how to use a computer."
Q - What are the main objectives you hope to achieve in your visit?
Sgt Goodman - "To enhance on the previous training that we delivered in 2008, and to provide adequate training on general police duties for their possible deployment to Darfur. There is always room for improvement and we have reviewed last year's programme and work on the base that has already been generated by the RGP and consolidate our working relations with The Gambian Police."
Q - Following the past three visits, are there any new projects or ideas which you hope to implement which have developed from these past visits?
Sgt Goodman - "First of all you have to remember that The Gambian Police do not have the facilities or equipment that most other police forces may have and enjoy. The work that is generated by crime reports is submitted by hand. Dockets are completed by hand and there is hardly if any access to I.T. Even though few of them have access to computers, if they get deployed to Darfur and given the responsibility to police thousands of people in refugee camps, they will attend to reported crime and will later have to report their actions via the use of a laptop which will be provided to them. So, one of our main tasks, other than teaching them general police duties such as preserving the scene of a crime, community policing, cultural awareness, rape amongst other reports of crime that they may come across, is to show them how to structure police reports and investigations."
Q - What training, if any, do you receive or require to enable you to undertake these visits?
Sgt Goodman - "Mainly, the familiarisation with Police training and requirements under the UN Police Handbook. Being a lecturer and/or trainer obviously helps, as it is not simple to address a classroom of over 100 officers, as well as being able to work under the conditions that I have already described, which are not quite the same ones that we are used to. Nevertheless, we improvise and it is gratifying. At the end of the three weeks training they are each presented with their certificates given to them by the RGR, at a certificate presentation parade, that is also attended by the RGR, The Gambian soldiers, paramilitary officers and The Gambian police officers together with dignitaries (from Gibraltar and The Gambia including The British High Commission in The Gambia), the latter who is very much aware of the RGR/RGP training delivered in The Gambia."
Q - What is the benefit to the RGP in undertaking these Operations?
Sgt Goodman - "It puts the RGP on the wider international police map. It also provides me with further professional development in my career. My 30 years of service/experience in the RGP can be an asset during these training visits to The Gambia. Having served in different departments such as Uniformed Branch, CID, Crime Management Unit, Crime Prevention Officer and more recently leading a group of officers within the High Visibility Policing Unit, which is very much orientated towards Community Policing, provides me with the knowledge, attitude and enthusiasm to travel so far and provide training to fellow colleagues. I would just add that it is a pleasure to form part of this training programme."
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