SARPCCO Technical Organs

Four SARPCCO Technical Organs were constituted. These are: Permanent Security Sub Committee, Training Sub Committee, Legal Sub Committee and the Women’s Network Sub Committee. A consolidated report generated from the meetings of the Technical Organs constituting the afore-mentioned sub committees form the basis of deliberations at the AGM.

SARPCCO AGM

SARPCCO AGM’s are held in the spirit of cooperation. The AGM’s have been consistently held every year since SARPCCO’s establishment in 1995.Twelve Member States, Zambia inclusive, have hosted this activity save for Madagascar, Seychelles and DRC.

SARPCCO Games

In 1996, the first AGM was held in Swapokmund, Namibia. It was at this meeting that the police Chiefs recognized the importance of sport as a unifying factor in the region. In 1999 the inaugural SARPCCO games were held in South Africa. Since then, the games have now become a permanent feature of SARPCCO activities. The games are also held on a rotational basis. So far, six Member States have hosted the games as follows; South Africa (1999, 2001 and 2003) Botswana (2004) Zimbabwe (2007), Malawi (2009), DRC (2011) and Namibia (2013). Swaziland is scheduled to host the 9^th edition of the SARPCCO games in Mbabane from July to August, 2015.

Milestones achieved by SARPCCO

In its 20 years of existence, the following successes have been scored:

Major challenges faced

Future of SARPCCO

The future appears to be promising. With the establishment of the SARPCCO Centre of Excellence based at the Interpol/SARPCCO Regional Bureau, Harare, Zimbabwe which was officially opened on 22^nd May, 2015, more officers will be exposed to more training and capacity building programmes. Joint operations on bi-lateral and multi-lateral levels are expected to increase. The Intelligence sharing arena will be widened. In effect, regional cooperation as regards crime with regional implications will be significantly strengthened.

The Author is Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police and Deputy Director-Training, Research & Development.