The police have confirmed an incident which was reported at around 3.34pm on December 2, 2016 whereby a Belgian couple was robbed at Anse Forbans beach.

With the help of the public, the suspect, a 28-year-old man from Grand Anse Mahé, was arrested and appeared before the court at around 6pm on the same day because the couple was due to leave the country that same night.

He has been remanded for 14 days after which he will re-appear in court on December 16, 2016.

The Seychelles Police yesterday commissioned a new communication and command centre which they say will empower them to deliver a better and professional service to the community and improve on their goals and objectives in order to achieve their vision and mission.

The commissioning formed part of activities to mark World Peace Day yesterday. Other activities by the force included blood donation at the Seychelles Police Academy at Pointe Larue and a Special Peace Service at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Victoria.

The centre is equipped with high-definition surveillance cameras and flat screens operating on wi-fi connectivity covering a large area of Victoria and its vicinity, as well as telephone and radio systems where officers deal with public queries and calls on a 24hr basis.

The centre has also been refurbished so as to create a conducive working environment for its staff and operators.

It will provide services which will include efficient telephone operators; punctual radio dispatches; GPS monitoring of all police vehicles; CCTV surveillance and electronic access to the number of officers and where they are deployed daily.

Present at the commissioning were the Minister for Home Affairs Charles Bastienne; Commissioner of Police Reginald Elizabeth; other high officials of the force and the security consultant of the CCTV project Steve Garrad.

Superintendent Francis Songoire gave Minister Bastienne an explanation on how the command centre functions and the services it offers.

The Marine Police Unit yesterday reached another milestone with the handing over and commissioning of two specialised boats donated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and with main sponsors the Japanese government.

The boats –made of H/D UV resistant material and equipped with trailers to offload, VHF radio, VHF marine antenna, marine compasses, GPS/echo-sounder, among others – were handed over to the Marine Police Unit by the Minister for Home Affairs Charles Bastienne and deputy Ambassador of Japan to Seychelles, Mikio Mori.

The hand-over ceremony took place at the ex-Seychelles Coast Guard jetty on Bois de Rose Avenue.

Built in Sri Lanka, the boats were funded through the Trust Fund Contact Group and in particular the government of Japan which donated through the Trust Fund.

Also present at the ceremony were the Programme Officer for Maritime Crime of Indian Ocean (UNODC) Shanaka Jayasekara, high officials of the Seychelles Police Force, UNODC and the Japanese government.

It was the Commissioner of Police Ernest Quatre and Mr Jayasekara who officially signed the hand-over documents.

Over two dozen station commanders and leaders from different units in the police force have completed a management and leadership performance training programme.

The training programme, which started earlier this year at the Guy Morel Institute at Ma Joie, has come to a close and in a short ceremony at the institute on Tuesday afternoon the group shared their experience and heard testimonies of the few months spent on the programme.

Home Affairs Minister Charles Bastienne, the Commissioner of Police Ernest Quatre, the Dean of the Guy Morel Institute Shella Mohideen, as well as the different lecturers were present to share in the officers’ achievements.

“Revamping our police force to meet our society’s actual and future  needs is a gradual process which demands good planning,” Mr Quatre pointed out, noting that changes carried out so far are proving to be worthy and are yielding good results.

Among the police’s greatest achievements last year was a reduction in crime rate.

Members of the force were also empowered through various training courses and donations of equipment which all contributed towards a successful year.

These were revealed during the Seychelles Police’s annual end of year gathering held on December 30 at the International Conference Centre.

The event was held under the patronage of the Minister for Home Affairs Charles Bastienne, Commissioner of Police Ernest Quatre, assistant commissioners and other high officials in the force.

Retracing the achievements of the force during the year 2015, assistant commissioner for policing, Reginald Elizabeth, highlighted the impressive reduction in crime rate.

Mr Elizabeth said the police recorded a decrease of 21% in crime rate from June to November that year.

The department of police has since last year been undergoing different revisions aimed at having a more professional and effective police force to meet the expectations of people in the community.

The new commissioner of police Reginald Elizabeth said on Friday the revisions were necessary and some of the officers promoted in Friday’s ceremony have been appointed in key positions for the effective functions of the revised structure of the force.

“They are committed and dedicated officers with lots of potentials,” Commissioner Elizabeth said.

He added that in its continued effort to be effective in this day and age the police force is looking towards information technology to raise the standard of its services to the community be it in intelligence gathering, for investigation, to monitor traffic and for general observation.

In relation to the latter he noted that several CCTV cameras have been installed around Victoria for round the clock surveillance to help the police when officers are not present on the scene.

Commissioner Elizabeth said the department of police is also in the process of introducing a new software programme for advanced intelligence gathering of criminal activities. 

To monitor traffic and fight related breach of regulations and crimes, Commissioner Elizabeth said a number plate recognising system will soon be installed to help the central command centre which is currently undergoing a complete revamp.

“The aim is to turn it into our operation centre whereby it can receive, monitor and deal with information, report on any crime reported by any station anywhere,” Commissioner Elizabeth explained.

Also through its agreement with the UNODC, the department of police expects to strengthen and computerise its case management system and to set up better communication with the individuals concerned.

Meanwhile steps to set up a fully-fledged forensic laboratory are well advanced and Commissioner Elizabeth said when operational this will prevent the problems the force is currently experiencing when samples are sent overseas for analysis.

“We are in an advanced stage in the process and hopefully very soon more details on the project will be announced,” Commissioner Elizabeth said.

As certain police officers’ behaviour and attitude towards the public they serve persistently remain a cause for concern, undermining continuous effort by the force to raise its standard and quality of its services to the community, Commissioner Elizabeth said he will continue to seek ways to ensure members of the force go through proper training.

“Earlier this year all officers in charge of police stations around the country followed intensive service delivery training at the Guy Morel Institute and at present they are passing on these knowledge to the men and women under their command,” Commissioner Elizabeth pointed out.

Eight police officers with several years of experience have received their badge of ranks in a short ceremony held yesterday afternoon at the police headquarters in Victoria.

The three women and five men received their badges from the hands of Deputy Commissioner Vernon Hunter and Commissioner Reginald Elizabeth.

The ceremony was held in the presence of Home Affairs Minister Charles Bastienne as well as other high-ranking officers.

They are Sergeant Aubrey Petrousse, who has been promoted to the rank of sub-inspector; sub-inspectors Winnifred Baccarie, Vanessa Anacoura and Marie-Antoinette Gedeon, who have all been promoted to the rank of inspector; Danny Mondon, who has been promoted from inspector to assistant superintendent; Justin Dogley and Jemmy Bouzin, who have moved from the rank of assistant superintendent to that of superintendent; and Superintendent Romano Songore who has been promoted to the rank of chief superintendent, the highest ranking among the group.

A group of young officers from the Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG) and the Marine Police Unit have completed a two-week training conducted by a group of officers from the United States Coast Guard International Division.

Yesterday in a short ceremony attended by the Commissioner of Police Ernest Quatre as well as key officers of the SCG at its base at Ile Perseverance, the young officers received their certificates and boarding officers’ pin.

Three young officers – Andry Esparon, Jerome Philoe (both from the SCG) and Dominic Hess from the Marine Police Unit – were awarded a special honour graduate coin for excellence in the training. They have been selected for further intensive training in their field.

Seychelles is hosting a series of meeting of the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF).

A series of four meetings which started with the EASF Day yesterday at the International Conference Centre (ICCS) will take place during next week.

Delegates from five Eastern African countries including Seychelles are taking part in the meetings.

EASF Day, which is held in different member countries, is a unique opportunity to bring together a cross section of people interested in or working for peace in the Eastern Africa region to learn more, share ideas and experiences on common issues using a unique and effective approach – the Standby Force approach.

Established by governments of Eastern Africa in a shared understanding of the urgent need to provide security and peace for the region, the EASF is mandated to address present security threats and conflicts and prevent future conflicts from escalating into large scale military conflicts, civil wars and genocide.

The Seychelles Police Force are now more equipped to deal with such issues as pirates hand-over after a joint training exercise with the Japanese Coast Guard.

The exercise took place earlier this week at the Seychelles International Airport in the presence of dignitaries from Japan and Seychelles.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Japan and Seychelles covering the conditions of transfer of seized property of suspected pirates was signed in 2014. The agreement covers issues such as pirates capture by the Japanese Navy, trial and possible conviction and repatriation to Somalia.

The scenario during this week’s exercise was that of two pirates who had been captured by the Japanese Coast Guard and taken into custody, along with evidence.  The Japanese Coast Guard then handed over the pirates and evidence to the Seychelles Police Force.