Samoa Police Service has recruited 146 auxiliary Police members to assist them provide security during the 2019 Pacific Games.

The auxiliary police members were sworn in at the Court in Apia on Monday and are ex-policemen and women and teachers, according to a statement posted on the Police Facebook page. 

Police Commissioner Fuiavailili Egon Keil welcomed the new recruits and said the success of the July 7-20 regional sporting event will be dependent on the safety and security of the country’s visitors.

Over 3000 athletes and sports officials have started to arrive in Apia with the bulk of the teams representing the 24 countries and territories scheduled to arrive on Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week. 

Fuiavailili, in his final remarks, highlighted the importance of their role as auxiliary police members and said their hard work will ensure Samoa offers the best hospitality during the Games. 

He said the new auxiliary police members should also use the opportunity to consider the Samoa Police Service as a potential employer and apply to join if they want to become full-time police officers. 

The Deputy Police Commissioner, Papali’i Monalisa Tiai-Keti, also addressed the new recruits.

Samoa’s donor partners have stepped up their support for the Police in preparation for the 2019 Pacific Games. 

The Australian government – under its Samoa Australia Police Partnership programme – donated vehicles and motorcycles to the Police last month as well as run training programmes focusing on tasks that they will undertake during the Games. The training focused on areas such as close personal protection; command, control and coordination; motorcycle training; and bicycle training.