Provincial Police Commander (PPC), Makira-Ulawa Province, Superintendent Peter Sitai urges his officers to learn as much as they can from the Media Awareness Training underway at the Kirakira Police Station and use what they learn to assist them in their policing work.
Twelve participants including the PPC and Heads of Units at the Kirakira Police Station as well as two officers of the Makira-Ulawa provincial disaster response office are attending the training which is being held from 5 – 9 March 2018. Two female are among the participants.
“I welcome this initiative by the RSIPF Media Unit to enable my senior officers to be aware of how we can use the media to assist us in our policing activities. Media is a powerful medium where police can utilise to convey its messages on crime and how people can work together with the police to prevent crime from our communities,” says PPC Sitai.
Superintendent Sitai adds: “As Chair of the Makira-Ulawa Provincial Disaster Response Committee, I have decided to invite the two officers of the Committee to participate in the Media Awareness Training as the work of the police compliments that of the disaster committee therefore it is important that they too understand how to utilise the media prior to a disaster, during a disaster and after a disaster.”
Superintendent Sitai says, “I want to thank the Commissioner of Police, Matthew Varley for endorsing this training program and Commander of the Solomon Islands Police Development Program (SIPDP) John Tanti for funding the Program’s Media Advisor, Johnson Honimae to implement the training program in Makira-Ulawa Province as well as other provinces.”
During the Media Awareness Training participants will be briefed on the RSIPF Commissioner’s Order on Media, the RSIPF Media Strategy, expectations of the Media, how to draft a media release, interview techniques, photography, dealing with media enquiries and developing relations with the media.
The Media Awareness Training is being coordinated by SIPDP as part of the strengthening of the capability of the RSIPF Media Unit to market the RSIPF with the aim of increasing the confidence of communities in the Force.
The Training, which started at the Gizo Police Station in Western Province early in February, has so far been held at the Auki Police Station before Kirakira Police Station this week. It is expected to be held at all the other provincial centres including Honiara City by mid-May this year.