Cité Soleil welcomes its own police brigade on wheels
by Jonas Laurince, http://www.minustah.org ;
After Croix-des-Bouquets, Pétionville and Delmas, it’s the turn of Cité Soleil to host the fourth Brigade on Bicycles – a unit of the Police Nationale d’Haïti (PNH ), whose mission is to get closer to the population.
“Officers on bicycles can patrol Cité Soleil’s ‘corridors’ where access is inaccessible to vehicles,” says Michelle Marie Dossous, a resident of this volatile neighbourhood in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. “With this brigade in place, we hope there will be fewer problems because the police can be everywhere,” adds George, another resident who is clearly excited at the sight of the police patrolling the narrow streets on bikes.
However, unlike their colleagues in Croix-des -Bouquets, Pétionville and Delmas , these community police officers have been trained by their peers – who have been trained in turn by the United Nations Police (UNPol). The Brigade on Bicycles of Cité Soleil is made up of five policemen. As Inspector Jean-Ernest Célestin, Coordinator of the project within UNPol explains, ” the team is made of four members – and one in reserve.”
Although the police in Cité Soleil work with limited resources, members of the Brigade feel ready for the new adventure: “This is a great initiative to get closer to the population,” says Sédernier Jean, one of the Brigade members. Following the very first patrol, he already sees the success of the new mission: “Alongside the population, we will work together to ensure the safety of the area,” he says.
Accompanied by the Police Commissioner of the United Nations, Luis Carrilho, and the Head of the National Police Western department, Michel-Ange Gédéon, the Brigade set-off on Thursday, September 19th, patrolling the streets of Cité Soleil under the gaze of the curious – each witness was surprised to see policemen in shorts and riding bikes.
Some 17 police constitute the new Brigade, which is a pilot project. In four months time, 80 new officers will be deployed across Haiti – bringing the total number of officers on bikes to 92.
Commissioner Carrilho renewed the support of MINUSTAH in the process of PNH development. For its part, Commissioner Michel-Ange Gédéon announced the upcoming deployment of similar brigades in the centre of Port-au-Prince and one of its most populated suburbs, Carrefour. This project is an initiative of the Canadian Government in collaboration with MINUSTAH.