By: Domingos Cambiete 

 
Luanda - The National Police, an organ under the Ministry of Interior, provided with  forces and services tasked with securing order and tranquillity, are celebrating today 35 years of existence, at a time that they are turned to modernisation of their services 

 
The main event of the celebrations will be held at Osvaldo Serra Van-Dunem Medium Institute of Police Sciences, in Luanda which, in addition to the traditional parade of forces in various specialties and resources, will be marked by promotion of staff staff, and by the end of specific courses. 

 
The elevation of the level of police protection and security of the country's population and their property and ensuring of the national heritage are, at this point,  as one of the imperatives of the institution, and for that the police are being equipped with men and modern technology required for the tasks assigned to them.

 
Also under the new challenges, the priorities include the enhancement of police protection in the country, with emphasis to the political-administrative centres and economic areas, with particular attention to areas where there are higher levels of danger, through the
implementation of protection of public scrutiny of transactions to prevent and combat crime, illegal immigration, as well as the promptness to act against unsafe conditions.

 
Phases of the evolution of the National Police:

For the stages that marked the evolution of the institution, worth mentioning is that, through the Decree- 24/75, the designation of the Public Security Police (PSP), an organ of the colonial administration of Angola, changed to Angola police Corps moved the appointment of the “Policia de Segurança Publica” (PSP), an agency of the colonial administration in Angola, to “Corpo de Policia de Angola” (CPA).

Consequently, it was extinguished the general command of the PSP and created in its place the Unified Command, the Staff and Administrative Inspection.

This unified command was a tripartite (MPLA, UNITA and FNLA), with each party to work towards a gradual process of integration into the joint police forces.

 
In November 1975, the eve of the proclamation of national independence, at a ceremony held at the Police Training School then, chaired by the Interior minister of the Transitional Government, Henriques Santos "Onambwé," the new uniforms adopted for the national police
were launched and new designations and posts of the hierarchy introduced.

By decision of the Government, the Police Force of Angola was placed under subordination of the Ministry of Defence. 

At this point, about 50 staff of the MPLA, FNLA and UNITA officials who occupied position of officers, becoming the first Angolan personnel of the CPA. But subsequent developments led to the quit of two of the parties (UNITA and FNLA). 

 
On February 28, 1976 during a ceremonial pledge of allegiance of 383 policemen, of whom 102 were female, the then commanding general, Santana Andre Pitra "Petrof", suggested to the then Defence Minister, Iko Carreira, that the CPA should be named Corpo de Policia Popular de of Angola (CPPA).  

As accepted, the date (February 28) became the National Police Day.