Bahrain's Interior Ministry has launched "the new concept" of its police force, whose main mission would be "to protect democracy, freedoms and security." A key element of the new concept is the Community Police project, according to top officers.
"The ministry's structure is being re-drawn according to a new strategic vision," Public Security Chief, Major General Abdul Latif Al Zayani was quoted by an official statement as saying.
"The new vision is based upon providing security in a way that is based upon credibility, transparency, accountability and justice," he said.
The police force will not interfere in politics, but will provide protection for the democratic principles of the country and freedoms, he said.
"We will uphold the law firmly and justly and protect human rights that are enshrined in the constitution," he added.
Bahrain's police were accused by the opposition of violating human rights during the civil unrest in the mid-1990s. However, opposition groups welcomed the appointment earlier this year of the new minister, Shaikh Rashid Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa.
Al Zayani said the ministry will recruit new members who "will win the trust of the people and act with the minimum level of force even in difficult situations." Part of the new recruits will be employed by the newly-announced Community Police project.
The minister said yesterday 250 people will be hired by the ministry in January as a beginning. He said 25 per cent of those will be women. Several months ago, thousands of Bahrainis, including hundreds of women, crammed into employment centres at governorate headquarters seeking to enrol in the project.
The community police will shoulder some of the responsibilities of the regular police, according to Shaikh Rashid.
"The new force will patrol neighbourhoods and also help solve community disputes on a social level without needing police interference," he said.
They will work under the governor's command in each governorate to address security matters that concern the citizens, he said.
"The community policing concept aims to involve the community in addressing the local issues and at the same time would help to employ more Bahrainis," he noted.
He also said the concept would help reduce crime by detecting the harmful social indications in the community that serve as an early warning of social problems that lead to criminal behaviour.
