SUPPORT UNIT
Support Unit is a branch within the Zimbabwe Republic Police. Its headquarters are in Chikurubi, Harare. It is commanded by an Officer of the rank of Commissioner, who is responsible for the day-to-day administrative and the operational efficiency of the Unit.The Unit has four Districts i.e. Chikurubi Urban, Chikurubi Rural, Fairbridge (Bulawayo) Buchwa (Zvishavane) and Changadzi.
Roles of Support Unit
- Public order management
- Major disaster and hostage situation management
- Protection of key/vital installations and VIPs
- Border patrols
- Anti-stock theft
- Sub aqua duties
New sections incorporated with the Support Unit
FORMED POLICE UNIT
Zimbabwe Formed Police Unit [FPU] is a Police Component of the SADC standby force established on 14 May 2015.On its inception, Support Unit was tasked to put together and train members of the Formed Police Unit and after training, Zimbabwe’s FPU first verification process was done by the SADC PLANELM TEAM, comprising the Head of SADC Police Component and SADC Planning Officer, from the 10th to February 2016.
Deployments and task of FPUs
The Unit will be deployed within the SADC region whenever a call for their services is required.Generally, Formed Police Unit [FPUs] is defined as a cohesive mobile police unit which provides support to UN/AU/SADC operations and ensures the safety and security of United Nations personnel and missions.They are established to accomplish three core tasks which are;
- Public Order Management.
- Protection of UN/AU/SADC personnel and facalities.
- Supporting police operations that may involve a higher risk.
FPU contingets are self-supporting components which have their own support staff elements to provide required catering, mantainance, engineering, medical and administrative support services.
BORDER CONTROL UNIT
The element of Border Control was introduced in the ZRP in 2009 under the Minerals and Border Control Unit.Its main thrust was to reduce criminal activities at Border Posts [land and air].In September 2018, the Zimbabwe Republic Police embarked on a restructuring exercise
which resulted into two entities namely Minerals Flora and Fauna and Border Control Unit.This saw the organisation effecting various changes, one of which allocated Support Unit with the management of Border Control Unit,solely with the responsibility of enforcement of all legislation at Border Posts [land and air] and along the borderline.
Roles of Border Control Unit
Border Control Unit’s main duties at Border posts and borderline are as follows;
- Assisting the Department of Immigration to guard against illegal migration and other related offences under the Immigration Act.
- Assisting the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority in ensuring that revenue due to the country is collected thr
- Joint operations with external and internal stakeholders and also partaking biateral operations.
- Conduct passenger/traveller profiling to weed out criminal
- Provides security to ZIMRA offices when conducting random searches on vehicles/travellers based on risk analysis/profiling.
- Checking of wanted persons
- Assisting in the apprehension of criminals in possession of firearms, ammunition, explosives or any offensive
- Providing armed security at key/vital points such as airports including static guard duties.
- Carry out cordon and search operations when called upon to do so.
- Public Order Management (crowd and traffic control)
- VVIP/VIP protection
- Anti-terrorist
- Manning perimeter access gates
- Border patrols at Border Posts and along the international boundary to curb ;
- Smuggling syndicates
- Transnational organised crime networks
- Human Trafficking
- Human Smuggling
- Entry and exit by evasion