His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday addressed the new director of the Public Security Department (PSD), saying that the PSD is the first line of defence, tasked with protecting citizens and the country’s assets and entrenching the rule of law “within a civil state built on the principles of equality, justice, dignity and safeguarding of rights and freedoms”.

The police officer plays a pivotal role in building the state of law, with a mission to “ensure the highest degree of security and peace of mind in our dear country, a task that cannot be accomplished except through mutual respect between police and citizens…and professionalism in police work relying on the highest standards of discipline, integrity and transparency”, the King said.

Police centres, King Abdullah said, are people’s refuge when needed and therefore, they should be a model of modernity to reflect the best image of Jordan.

His Majesty directed the new PSD chief to arrange training for all PSD employees to upgrade their skills, applying the best international practices in their training coupled with modern technology, while stressing that police personnel’s living conditions should be improved.

In light of the security threats facing Jordan, the King underlined the need for security agencies to coordinate their work closely to ensure the success of their operations.

In this context, His Majesty stressed the need to revisit and update all security strategies and plans to “bring an end to all forms of law violations, safeguard the state’s authority and fight crimes, especially those related to narcotics”.