By: Isatou Sarr
Inspector General of Police Seedy Mukhtar Touray Inspector General of Police Seedy Mukhtar Touray has said that 1,333 recruits completed rigorous training covering 70 modules, including Police administration, evidence and procedure, traffic management, crimes, and general law are ready to dominate the streets, clamp down on crime.
He said on Wednesday, 6th August 2025, at Never Again Arch in Banjul, that the recruits also finished extensive physical training in weapons handling, public order management, and martial arts.
Inspector General Touray said the recruitment and selection process was “rigorous and thorough” to ensure only the best candidates serve the Gambian people. “This intake comprises well-trained men and women ready to dominate the streets to clamp down on crime,” he stated.
He expressed confidence that the recruits would keep Gambians safe in their homes and significantly reduce crime in all its forms. This intake represents the largest in the history of the Gambia Police Force.
Since the 2017 democratic transition, the government has pursued security sector reform (SSR) to reshape the security system to be more responsive to citizens’ needs rather than merely state security.
“To be a nation with a professional and apolitical security system able to protect the country and its people, in line with fundamental human rights and the rule of law, is our shared goal,” IGP Touray said. He added that the security system must also promote peace, national unity, tolerance, social cohesion, and respect for diversity, irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity, or religion.
IGP Touray urged the recruits to set positive examples by obeying lawful orders and upholding the law, stressing that doing so will earn them the highest esteem of the citizens they have sworn to serve.
At the ceremony’s conclusion, Isatou Jatta, the overall best graduating recruit, was awarded a certificate and a cash prize of D40,000 by President H.E. Adama Barrow. The Lord Mayor of Banjul, Rohey Malick Lowe, and others pledged additional recognition in honour of Jatta’s outstanding achievement, especially notable given the prevailing gender disparity in the security sector.
