Police Academy promises a bright future for Samoa’s police force

By Talaia Mika

APIA, SAMOA – 25 OCTOBER 2022: The new Samoa Police Academy is a promising step that demonstrates Samoa’s police progressing towards higher standard qualifications that will benefit the country and over eight hundred police officers currently serving in the force.

The Academy construction on 16 acres of land previously occupied by the Tafaigata Prison, broke ground this morning with the first shovels turned by Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mataafa and China’s Ambassador to Samoa, Chao Xiaoliang.

Attending were members of the cabinet, the diplomatic corps, heads of government ministries, the construction team as well as police officers.

The police academy project is funded by the People’s Republic of China with Samoa’s approved assistance of WST$1,152,494 making up the total estimated cost of WST$16,652,494.

The Minister of Police, Prisons & Corrections Services, Faualo Harry Schuster said the Police Academy is envisioned as a multi-agency training centre for the development of police knowledge in up-keeping the law as well as the safety of the people of Samoa.

On the courses to be available, Faualo said the sector is looking at a complete remapping of the current curriculum and training for police officers and this should be in place prior to the opening of the facility.

“We have consultants from New Zealand, Australia and Fiji helping out,” he said.

“The target is for a curriculum that will produce officers with standards and academic qualifications that would be recognized overseas,” said the Minister.

The Academy was designed by the Shanghai Architecture Engineering company and will be constructed by the Shaanxi Construction Engineering Group from China for eighteen months.

The billboard of the project and how it will look when completed.

The Police Academy complex will consist of training and teaching classrooms, an academy office, an operations training venue, accommodations building, equipment room, watching stands, a roofed sports field, and auxiliary facilities including defensive driving training grounds.

The initial discussions for the construction of the police academy took place some seven years ago with subsequent approval of the project by Cabinet on 10 June 2016.

The exchange of letters and the implementation agreement was signed in 2018. But major setbacks posed by the Covid-19 pandemic including the closing of Samoa’s borders, caused significant delays despite the project scheduled to be implemented in the early 2020.

The project was further delayed due to the in availability of a Chinese technical and design group to travel to Samoa.

After this mornings’ ground breaking ceremony, the project is scheduled to be completed in mid 2024.

The Minister of Police said when it is completed; the facility will have a lot of potential for training not just for the police but other government ministries.