THE Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) has officially opened a new library in its academy on 24th October – thanks to the support of the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
The RSIPF’s Assistant Commissioner (Corporate Support), Stanley Riolo, said the library is a long outstanding project for the RSIPF and he is pleased that it has finally become a reality.
The establishment of a library was first considered in 2018 with a dedicated space being allocated within the Academy for this purpose.
In 2023, the AFP Library donated around 200 books to the RSIPF to help establish the library. The AFP’s Law Enforcement Cooperation Program (LECP) subsequently provided a grant of approximately SBD$50,000 to purchase shelving, furnishings and other materials necessary for a proper library space.
This included the purchase of a metal compactus to better protect resources and mitigate injury risks from falling books during earthquakes or tremors.
The AFP, through the RSIPF-AFP Policing Partnership Program (RAPPP), supported the installation of the compactus and funded additional infrastructure works valued at about SBD$170,000 to address structural damage within the library and the Academy’s computer room.
The new library now offers RSIPF officers with a wide range of resources to support and enhance their work and research. The library will not only benefit new recruits at the Academy but also participants on leadership and other courses, frontline police and specialist investigators seeking to improve their skills.
The current catalogue includes books and manuals that cover a range of policing-related topics like gender and family harm, intelligence and investigations, officer safety, health and wellbeing and emergency management.
In addition to helping establish the RSIPF Library, RAPPP has undertaken a range of projects in support of the RSIPF Academy. This includes the installation of new screens in the academy’s classrooms to assist the delivery of classes and programs, the delivery of a new printer to support printing of training materials and the installation of air conditioners.
RAPPP also refurbished the academy’s female changing rooms as part of a gender initiative valued at about SBD$72,000.
Assistant Commissioner Riolo said support from partners is critical as the RSIPF is proposing to turn the academy into a college. He thanked the AFP for its ongoing support and partnership.
AFP’s Acting Commander Solomon Islands, Adam McCormack, said the opening of the library is a result of teamwork and commitment highlighting the importance of continued investment in police education, training and resource accessibility in support of the RSIPF’s vision to be a leading professional police organisation within the Pacific.
