British funding to establish model police station

Manila: The British government is funding the establishment of a model police station in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), as part of its contribution to peace in the southern Philippines.

According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), a model police station will soon rise in the city of Marawi in Lanao del Sur as part of reform initiatives under the PNPs "Integrated Transformation Programme."

A memorandum of agreement the project was signed recently between the British ambassador to the Philippines, Peter Beckingham, and Police Director Jesus A Verzosa, PNP Deputy Chief for Operations.

The accord formalised the grant of £24,000 (Dh176,854) from the British government to bankroll the project.

Versoza - the project's prime mover - said the programme aims to standardise what a police station should be in terms of physical infrastructure, police service methods, systems and procedures and human resource and technical and equipment capabilities.

Standards

"It is high time we establish police stations that boast of higher standards of service due to improved technical, logistical and equipment capabilities, manned by well-trained police specialists who are human-rights and gender sensitive and housed in well-appointed, citizen-friendly offices," Versoza said.

As one of the selected pilot sites of the project, the headquarters of the Marawi City police station will not only undergo a physical transformation but its personnel will as well.