About a Police Force

  Step by Step…The Namibia Police Force

Wedged between the Kalahari desert and the chilly South Atlantic, the Republic of Namibia formerly known as South West Africa is blessed with nature's abundance with deserts, seascapes and bushes dotting its landscape. Bordered by South Africa in the south, Angola and Zambia in the north and Botswana and Zimbabwe in the east, the country boasts of the oldest desert in the world, the Namib Desert which stretches along the whole west coast of the country.

The Yesteryears

As one of the German colonies, the formal policing in the country was done first by German soldiers "Kaiserliche Schutztruppe" as part of their overall responsibilities. On 1 March 1905, the first police force was established as "Kaiserliche Landespolizei fur Deutsch Sudwestafrika." During 1907, this force had an establishment of 400 members. The period of policing by the "Landespolizei" ceased with the South African invasion during the First World War. It was in February 1916, that a military formation took over the policing function with 52 officers and 1100 other ranks. The military police force was disbanded on 31 December 1919 and the members were taken up in the South West African police force. A detective unit was established in May 1920. Mounted police patrols were also in use, functioning normally for three weeks at a time with some of the camel patrols lasting as long as three months. In 1939, the South West African police force was disbanded and policing was taken over by the South African Police. On 1 April 1981 policing was transferred by the South African Police to yet again a newly established South West African police force. The country became independent on 21 March 1990 and the Namibian Police Force came into being by an Act of Parliament (Act 19 of 1990).

Namibian Police Flag Source: Nampol Police Website

Mission Statement

The Namibian Police or Nampol "stands in unison with the principles and philosophy of the rule of law and, as such, the Force is a service providing organisation for both citizens and foreign nationals residing the borders of the Republic of Namibia."

The main functions of the police force are to prevent and investigate crime and maintain internal security.

Management Team

The Namibian Police is headed by an officer of the rank of Inspector General of Police who is appointed by the President of the Republic of Namibia as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces as prescribed in Article 32 (4)(c)(bb) of the Constitution.

Powers vested:

The Inspector General has the powers:

• To determine the functions of members, their powers and duties;
• To institute disciplinary proceedings against members and to discharge them;
• To increase penalties for certain offences under the Police Act;
• To submit criminal statistics to the Ministry of Home Affairs;
• To establish a Police Advisory Board;
• To provide for Municipal police.

The Inspector General is accountable to the Minister of Home Affairs for command, superintendence and control of the Force. He is further assisted by:

• The Deputy Inspector General - Operations
• The Deputy Inspector General - Administration
• Human Resources - Personnel, Training and Welfare
• Finance and Logistic - Administers the financial and logistical affairs of the Force.

The main operational divisions include:

Inspectorate - This division is responsible for policy planning, research, development project assessments and planning, formulation of policy directives and manuals, inspections and performance auditing.

Public Relations and Liaison Division - This division's charter includes media liaison, crime prevention, audio-visual, sport and community policing .

Crime Investigation Division - This division deals with crime administration and has specialised units namely the Protection Resources Unit, Commercial Crime Investigation Unit, Drug Enforcement Unit, Crime Investigation Support Unit, Motor Vehicle Theft Unit, Fire Arms Unit, Women, Child Protection Center.

Special Field Force - This encompasses Border Guards, VIP Protection Unit and Reserve Force.

Training in Progress

The Israel Patrick Iyambo Police College is the only institution, which provides advanced police training in the country.

The Police College provides basic training to police students, advance training, in-service training and on the job training to members and officers of the Force. It also renders training assistance to other government departments and institutions.