In the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is contributing to the development of an inclusive social protection system by supporting the reform program of the Congolese National Police (PNC). This support focuses on establishing community policing, thereby facilitating access to security and justice for all. 

It is in this spirit that IOM organized the closing ceremony on August 24, 2024, for the training of 445 Judicial Police Officers on the roles and duties of judicial police officers within the common law jurisdictions. 

Organized by the IOM as part of its Community Policing project, this training aimed to strengthen the skills of judicial police officers from the eastern provinces of the DRC (including 150 in Bukavu, 150 in Goma, 42 in Lubumbashi, and 103 in Mbujimayi) on the doctrine of community policing. The goal was to address challenges related to professionalism in the pre-judicial phase, ensuring access to justice and security for the Congolese population. 

The training of these judicial police officers covered the following specific modules: child rights and protection, the complaint filing process, community policing, police ethics and professionalism, gender-based violence (GBV), general intelligence, general and special criminal law, ordinary and military criminal procedures, criminal investigation techniques, report writing, forensic medicine, the criminal record system, and basic concepts of forensic science. 

Zirumana one of the 445 judicial police officers trained to support the implementation of the community policing doctrine in the province of South Kivu. He expressed his satisfaction with the skills he learnt in this training: "I was acting as a judicial police officer without proper training and qualifications. I was, therefore, working illicitly in this role. I carried out arbitrary arrests because I didn't understand the classification of offenses. This training is a great asset for me. It has given me a new perspective on my work as a judicial police officer. This will contribute to the improvement of both my behavior and my work," he stated. 

The closing ceremony was formally marked by the oaths taken by the 445 participating officers before the prosecutors of the Republic from the courts of first instance in Bukavu, Goma, Lubumbashi, and Mbujimayi. The ceremony was attended by provincial authorities and provincial police commissioners, symbolizing their professional and ethical obligations. 

The community policing project aims to continue the professionalization of the Congolese National Police by testing and extending the community policing doctrine. This approach facilitates closer cooperation between the police and the population in managing public security.