King visits PSD, calls for expediting merger of security agencies

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, on Sunday urged expediting the merger of the Civil Defence Directorate and the General Directorate of the Gendarmerie into the Public Security Directorate (PSD), to improve the conditions of current and retired personnel.

 During a meeting at the PSD, attended by HRH Prince Rashid, PSD Director Maj. Gen. Hussein Hawatmeh and a number of officers, King Abdullah commended the progress made so far since the merger was announced, especially in regards to retired personnel, stressing the need to give them due attention, according to a Royal Court statement.

During the visit, His Majesty was briefed on a number of security and organisational issues undertaken by the PSD.

The King underscored the importance of maintaining transparency to improve services provided to the public, expressing pride in and support for PSD personnel’s efforts.

His Majesty was briefed by attendees on key plans and programmes under way to develop the administrative and organisational structures of the PSD, as well as build the capacities of its personnel.

Also during the visit, the King met with Maj. Gen. Hawatmeh and was briefed on measures taken to merge the Civil Defence Directorate and the General Directorate of the Gendarmerie into the PSD and the strategies developed to improve the performance of personnel.

In a letter to Prime Minister Omar Razzaz in December 2019, His Majesty had directed the government to proceed with merging the two agencies into the PSD, while ensuring professional security coordination, improving public services and reducing budget expenses. 

During the visit on Sunday, the King toured the Centre for Innovation and Development, which was recently inaugurated at the PSD as a space for developing creative ideas based on security analysis and partnership with the local community.

His Majesty also honoured a number of PSD members who developed programmes and technical and training equipment that contributed to saving effort and expenses, in addition to enhancing security personnel’s performance. 

At the end of the visit, the King joined a number of PSD officers for lunch.