“Officers must prove themselves”

Police commissioner:

At Monday’s official delivery of police vehicles to the Police Force Suriname (KPS) at the office of Rudisa Motor Company NV, Police Commissioner Roberto Prade urged police officers to prove themselves. “First they said that there were not enough vehicles and equipment and that they therefore could not respond to calls to serve the public. Now there is an abundance of means that they need so the police officers must prove that the shortage of means was the problem,” Prade told Times of Suriname. The police force has been strengthened with 318 new vehicles. Reports indicate that 153 pickups, 5 buses, 22 SUVs, 80 motorbikes and 30 bicycles were purchased for the police force. 30 of the motorbikes are 125 cc motorcross bikes. “The police will be more visible within the community and the goal is to reduce crime and maintaining law and order.

The police force will also make sure that the workers do what they signed up for which is to serve the community and nothing else. Everybody will have to take care of his responsibilities,” said Prade. Several new police vehicles that were purchased last year are already damaged and one has even been declared a total loss. “The government can’t always invest in new vehicles so it is our task to make sure that the means that we have at our disposal are used with the utmost care. In each case where a police vehicle is damaged, an investigation is launched to determine what exactly happened. If it turns out that the officers did not stick to the rules regarding the use of these vehicles, strict measures are taken against them. They do not go unpunished. There is even one case where it must soon be decided what will happen to the policeman in question.”