The National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, last week hosted the Commissioner of the Angola National Police, General Arnaldo Manuel Carlos, on a seven-day working visit.
The purpose of the working visit is for Angola’s Police Force to benchmark and share insight and knowledge on how the SA Police Service (SAPS) prevents and tackles transnational, organised and emerging crime trends.
The need to benchmark from the SAPS is part of a long-standing partnership which was fostered in 2017, according to the police.
This was after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two police organisations to enhance working relations with a view to jointly prevent and combat cross-border crimes such as drugs, and human trafficking as well as theft of minerals.
The delegation from Angola consists of senior officers and the Heads responsible for Angola’s Criminal Investigation Service, narcotics investigations unit, environmental and natural resources investigations unit as well as the Angolan INTERPOL National Central Bureau Head.
The delegation will engage and exchange first-hand knowledge with SAPS detectives, crime intelligence officers, experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Police Emergency Services (flying squad, K9, mounted unit) as well as the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) commonly known as the Hawks.
The delegation will also form part of SAPS’ impactful crime combatting strategy, Operation Shanela which has to date led to the arrest of more 350 000 suspects for various crimes ranging from murder to rape.
General Masemola said the visit aims to showcase the capabilities and expertise that exist within the SAPS.
“We have a variety of experts within the SAPS that work together to prevent, combat and investigate crime.
“Ours is to share knowledge and expertise with our counterparts with the aim of also ensuring that we benefit through joint cross border operations between the two countries,” he said.
The visit will culminate with a meeting between the Minister of Police General Bheki Cele and the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Angola, General Eugenio Cesar Laborinho who will together foster closer working relations between the two police organisations. This meeting will be held in Gauteng this week.
