Three Canada-based Vincentians are among a group from York Regional Police who are in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to help establish the Sexual Assault Offences Unit of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF).
During a ceremony at Police Headquarters in Kingstown on Thursday, the team handed over to the local constabulary computers and other networking equipment, manuals on sexual assault investigations, digital voice recorders, buccal swabs and other paraphernalia needed to set up or to be used by the unit.
Team leader, Staff Sergeant Tony Brown, who is originally from Coulls Hill, is into his 34th year with the York Regional Police.
He is trained in major crime and sexual assault investigations and met detective Assistant Superintendent of Police Sydney James of the RSVGPF at a training course in Ottawa.
James made the initial inquiry that led to the donation of the equipment and the setting up of the unit, a pledge that Commissioner of Police Michael Charles has made to Vincentians.
Brown said that having spoken to Charles and James, he approached his chief and requested some equipment, training manuals, and supplies for the RSVGPF.
He said that the York Regional Police changes computers every two or three years.
Those donated to the RSVGPF have been wiped clean and reloaded with software and are of significant value, he said.
He highlighted the importance of information communication technology in fighting sexual assault, noting that in some instances networking plays a major role in convicting persons.
“So this is for the betterment of all Vincentians. … We feel proud that we are giving back,” Brown said, adding that the York Regional Police will continue to build the relationship and assist in whatever way it can to improve the unit in the future.
Meanwhile, Charles said he was elated that the unit was becoming a reality, and lauded James for his effort.
“St. Vincent and the Grenadines, today, and more so, the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, we are in a better position, thanks to the York Regional Police,” he said.
Charles said that he believes that the unit, which will have a 10-member complement of mostly officers in the initial stage, will help to solve sexual assault crimes.
The team also includes Florette Israel, who is originally from Stoney Ground.
“I have always indicated to Tony who has volunteered many a times to Jamaica and I’ve always said to him why Jamaica and why not us,” she said.
Taiwan-trained Vincentian, Casroy Cain, who has been living in Canada for six years, is also a part of the team.
“As a Vincentian who left, I’ve always wanted to give back and as soon as I spoke with Tony and I heard about this initiative, I just got on board,” said Cain, who is originally from Richland Park and is a civilian member of the Police Force.
Sophistry of the highest order. All these equipments is just a band aid over a gangrene sore foot that is sexual abuse of our females, especially the minors, in vincyland.
Address the weakarse laws we have on the books, so the police and the courts can go after these sexual predators and deviants and also those enabling parents and guardians;without being encumbered with nonsensical and outdated legalities.
I have no time for this sideshow, while our 12 year old girls are being breed every Monday morning.
1. These cops from Toronto took years to capture notorious sex predator and psychopath Paul Bernardo. Their gross incompetence let his wife, Karla Homolka, off with a light sentence for being his willing accomplice.
2. Business as usual will be the order of the day’s regardless of how much high tech our cops get.
You are both bang on! So much for free computers, some manuals, swabs and paraphernalia. How about proper training? I didn’t read anything about that. Like TeacherFang says, it’s all a bandaid over a gangrene sore foot. Simply posturing, that’s all this is.
All the training In the world means nothing if you don’t have the desire or intellect to apply that training, both of which our police force, from top to bottom, lack.
You are quite right David, that is why the Comrade will be in charge of taking the swab test’s and examination.
I live in St Vincent two months every winter. A couple of years ago a Belgian social worker, visiting her son at Richmond Vale Academy, was raped and robbed in broad day light on the road to Fitz Hughes. I was there. She was about 50 years old. The rapist was never caught. This technology, given to you free, will help in so many ways to catch rapists and other criminals. You start a DNA library. You do crime scene forensics. You create sexual offender histories. You lock these people up. I live in Ontario the other 10 months of the year. Here women can’t walk alone in my city safely at night. But we allocate a lot of money to hospital services, housing services, counseling, etc. for sexual assault. The only witness to Paul Bernado here, was his wife. He killed the young girls he kidnapped and raped, and millions of people here still talk about how his wife got off easy, with a lot of contempt.
Your response is full of contradictions.
Would this equipment and knowledge have made any difference when Gonsalves was accused of rape by one woman and accused of sexual assault by another and all those others complaints from some years ago?
Would the police have carried out those tests and procedures in the case of the allegations against Gonsalves?
In the UK they have prosecuted men who assaulted women 30 years ago, because there is no statute of limitation on such behaviour in the UK as there is also no statute of limitation in SVG. No evidence by DNA strictly by accusation and allegations taken before a court and a jury makes the decision, perhaps we have that procedure applied here in the future which will decide that Gonsalves is innocent. Because he has never been before a court and it was only a decision by the DPP that saved Gonsalves from his day in court.