Over 60 officers from the Samoa Police, Prison and Correction Services (S.P.P.C.S.) have been selected to do the guard of honour this year to conclude the 60th Independence anniversary celebrations.

The guard of honour will be done to mark the end of the independence celebrations and the beginning of a new dawn in the 61st year of the country's independence.

The S.P.P.C.S. has since last month already started preparations for the event with the Samoa Observer witnessing practices at the police headquarters in Apia two weeks ago.  

"Over these past few weeks, the selected few have practiced tirelessly, dedicating their time and effort to serve our nation with pride, paying homage to our forefathers who paved the way for Samoa’s Independence," said the Police in a statement.

The Guard of Honour will also be accompanied by the Samoa Police Royal Band.

The event is a long-practiced tradition that is undertaken by the Ministry of Police and all officers under the leadership of the Heads of State since Samoa first raised its flag as an independent country.

The guard of honour is not the only event that the police are preparing themselves for. At the start of 2024, the Ministry is expected to have a greater capacity to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2024 and ensure the security and safety of the 54 member states' leaders who will attend. 

The Police have begun to upskill their officers to be ready to provide state-of-the-art security during the global summit through technology-assisted policing such as drone training. Deputy Police Commissioner, Papali’i Monalisa Tiai-Keti said the specialist training is one part of the Ministry’s modern policing toolkit.

“Drones [usage] are just one example of new technology that the Samoa Police have implemented which are an important part of the modern policing toolkit,” she said. “While we continue to adapt and enhance our response it is important that we build a sustainable capability with effective governance and SQA endorsed internal training which supports operations long term."

Part of the training for officers within the Ministry also includes the development of their remote piloted aircraft system (R.P.A.S.) capability, with the first Samoa Qualification Authority (SQA)-endorsed Police Drone Training delivered at Fagalii last week.

Commonly known as drones, the R.P.A.S. provide over-watch and enhance situational awareness for police operations. The drone capability and training course has been developed over the past 18 months in partnership with the Australian Federal Police through the Samoa Australia Police Partnership (SAPP).