Staff capacity building for the SI Independent Commission Against Corruption.
I have been considering what Sir Frank Kabui, GCMG, CSI, OBE, the former Governor General of the Solomon Islands is reported to have told the Solomon Star about the recruitment of personnel to the local Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Commission which he heads.
Sir Frank is believed to have intimated that the ICAC lacks teeth when it comes to investigations as PH.D staff that have been recruited lack experience in the work when it comes to the detailed investigational work the Commission requires.
I think back to my years in Hong Kong when the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) first began in about 1980. I was then serving in the Royal Hong Kong Police as a detective inspector and was offered a position with the Commission.
In the first year of its operation, the ICAC engaged 369 people through open recruitment. Experienced people were attracted and engaged from various sources and from the UK police forces.
Today, the HK ICAC has a large staff compliment who serve in the Operations Department, the Corruption Prevention Department and in the Administrative Branch
Once personnel for either of the departments are recruited they all undergo inductive training which provide basic training to them so they may be deployed to any of the three Departments.
All recruits serve their first contract in the Operations Department so that they can benefit from exposure to a wide range of corruption investigations before being posited to either the Corruption Prevention or the Community Relations Department.
Training for new recruits lasts about two years, with intensive training on a wide range of subjects, including law, rules of evidence, computer forensics, financial investigation skills, cognitive interview techniques, corruption prevention, communication skills, forensic accounting, asset recovery and undercover operations.
I understand the HK ICAC has now created a Forensic Accounting Group to support frontline operations.
In addition to the professional training I have mentioned, officers also receive training on team building, leadership, stress management, change management, quality management and personal effectiveness, including training out of Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong ICAC has established a fine reputation as an anti-corruption agency over the years of its operations and it would be my suggestion that the Commission could assist the local ICAC with its operational requirements, especially in regard to training in both investigations and administration.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
