On April 14, two Ohio State Police Officers kicked off the first of two, week-long courses on Ethics in Policing for five police instructors and 65 Korps Politie Suriname (KPS) police officers from all over Suriname. The U.S. Embassy is funding the training through the Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement. At the request of the KPS, the U.S. Embassy provided the American police trainers to work with police instructors and entry level officers.
The training is part of KPS’s effort to strengthen capacity. By training police instructors, KPS will be able to incorporate best practices and lessons learned into its cadet training program as part of the existing ethics curriculum. The training will focus on ethical leadership, integrity and community relations, as well as handling misconduct within the police force and corruption. Using case studies and lectures, the training will provide a basic overview of police ethics in relation to the police oath of office and the police’s duty to the public.
Public trust in law enforcement agencies to perform their responsibilities in an ethical manner is essential to effective crime control and community policing.
The United States is proud to work with Suriname on a range of programs in law enforcement, rule of law, fiscal transparency, and regional security cooperation.