page_title: Somali Police Force
section_title: Personnel and training
hierarchical_section_title: Somali Police Force / Personnel and training
caption_attribution_description: English: Somali Police Force (SPF) officers stand on parade 07 May 2012, ahead of a handover ceremony of equipment donated by the Government of Japan through the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) Trust Fund to support the rebuilding of the SPF in the Somali capital Mogadishu. The equipment included a motor transport fleet of 15 pick-up trucks, two troop personnel carries and two ambulances, 1.800 ballistic helmets and sets of handcuffs, over 1,000 VHF radio handsets, and musical instruments for the police band. AU-UN IST PHOTO / STUART PRICE.
context_page_description: The Somali Police Force is the national police force and the main civil law enforcement agency of Somalia. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Public Security.
  It served from 1960 to 1991 as one of the principal organs of the Somali Armed Forces and upon reorganisation distanced itself away from the Armed Forces. While organised at a national level, each arm reports to a county police authority, which in turn divides its force by local Police Divisions, headquartered at local police stations; the police force was later reconstituted at the start of the 21st century.
  In an emergency, the police can be reached by dialing 888 from any telephone in Somalia.
context_section_description: Beginning in the early 1970s, police recruits had to be seventeen to twenty-five years of age, of high moral caliber, and physically fit. Upon completion of six months of training at the National Police Academy in Mogadishu, those who passed an examination would serve two years on the force.
  After the recruits completed this service, the police could request renewal of their contracts. Officer cadets underwent a nine-month training course that emphasized supervision of police field performance.
  Daraawishta members, or modern Dervishes, attended a six-month tactical training course. Birmaadka personnel received training in public order and riot control.
caption: Somali Police Parade
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