Manama: Bahrain’s interior ministry has taken steps to hire 500 community policemen and policewomen in a move that will implement a more human rights approach in its police department.
Lieutenant General Shaikh Rashid Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the interior minister, said that he signed the final documents to hire 500 police recruits who will begin classes at the Royal Police Academy on October 1.
The cadets were selected from a pool of over 2,200 candidates and the recruitment and vetting process has taken several months.
“A great effort was made to ensure that the new cadets represent all communities in Bahrain,” the minister said. “To achieve this, 100 people have been selected from each of the five governorates of Bahrain. The number of women candidates was 100.”
Shaikh Rashid said that the move followed the recent naming of a police ombudsman and that the two actions were “significant steps towards the reform that was recommended in the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report.”
The report by the international panel of experts was published in November and its recommendations have been accepted by the government.
“Integrating the security services and changing the culture of the organisation are long-term reforms. “We are implementing plans to move away from public order policing towards a more human rights based approach. The end goal is to provide a full-service police department that engenders the trust of all segments of the population,” he added.
The new police cadets will be the first to receive training under the revamped human rights curriculum at the Royal Police Academy. The teaching syllabus was revised to comply with all internationally recognised human rights standards and best practices. The training will last six months and upon graduation, the new officers will hit the streets in early April.
