Peilapalap, Pohnpei: July 24, 2023: Governor Oliver attended the opening ceremony for the Department of Public Safety’s Police Academy, General Inspection and awards ceremony held at the Kolonia-China Friendship Gym. Also attending with Governor Oliver was Ms. Cheryl Burkindine, Grants Management Specialist from the U.S. Department of Interior Office of Insular and International Affairs and a member of the Pohnpei State Police Commission, Ms. Phyllis Silbanuz.
This is the third Police Academy held during the Oliver/Ioanis Administration. The recruits will undergo a 14-week course of instruction that includes lots of physical training delivered this year with the assistance of Marines from Task Force Koa Moana ’23. The recruits will also learn policing foundations, traffic management and enforcement, property crimes, crimes against a person and applied policing tasks.
Director of the Department of Public Safety, Patrick Carl, delivered remarks on behalf of Governor Oliver to highlight the good work the Department has undertaken leading up to the Police Academy. He also introduced U.S. Marine Corps Captain Lucas Walters who thanked Director Carl for allowing the Marines to be a part of the training. Captain Walters advised the Officers to train hard and to “relish the opportunity” to train and suffer because that will better prepare them to meet the challenges of being Police Officers.
You can view the follow their progress and find updates on the Department of Public Safety’s Facebook page: Pohnpei State Department of Public Safety. Thank you to the Marines of Task Force Koa Moana for their help, thank you to the U.S. Government’s Capacity building fund for their generous support to the Department of Public Safety’s Police Academy.