Police seek change in employment regulation after losing specialized expertise

By Lagi Keresoma

APIA, SAMOA – 16 DECEMBER 2022: The Ministry of Police has submitted to Cabinet for changes to the employment regulation which bans police couples from working together in the Ministry.

Also banned is employing a son or daughter if a parent is a police officer.

The regulation was put in place by the previous Government in November 2017 and resulted in 23 married police couples choosing who to go and who remained with the Ministry.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Papali’i Monalisa Keti, said the regulation had a huge impact on the skills pool within the ministry. She said the change resulted in losing Inspectors and Senior Sergeants, officers trained in specialized fields such as forensic, and those with years of operational experience in police work.

At the time, there were complaints lodged by some married couples who thought the regulation was unfair, as it targeted married couples and not those in de-facto relationships.

The previous Government thought there was a conflict of interest for couples working together under one Ministry and impacted performance and service.

Papali’i said the submission is a matter of urgency.

The Ministry is targeting to have 1,200 officers soon in preparation for the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting Samoa is hosting in 2024.

Papali’i explained the police recruitment is a long process and by the time the recruits have been chosen to start the 16 weeks training, some have been picked up by the RSE or the NZ quota; then they start all over again.

“We have made our submission and we are now waiting for Cabinet’s decision,” said Papali’i.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has reinstated some officers who previously left the service for various reasons.

“That is a subject for the Commissioner and Management’s discretion,” she said.

“We need experienced people and some of the officers who were relieved of their duties due to the regulation had years of experience and were well aware of the work,” she said.