Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Ralph Gonsalves, has urged police officers to know their duties and responsibilities and the powers vested in them by the laws of St. Vincent and the Grenadines as Police Officers.
He delivered the admonition on Monday during a meeting with the top brass and ranks of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, at the Old Montrose Police Station.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Godfred Pompey, also attended the meeting.
Among the approximately 280 officers who attended the meeting at the Old Montrose Police Lecture Hall were acting Commissioner of Police, Colin John, acting Deputy Commissioner of Police, Frankie Joseph and the Police High Command, including Coast Guard Commander, Brenton Caine, and the gazetted officers’ corps.
Gonsalves said every police officer, regardless of department, division, or station to which they are attached, should seek to enforce and uphold the laws of SVG.
Touching on the current debate on noise and the Noise Act, Gonsalves told the officers they should not turn deaf ears to this issue because they are not attached to the Traffic Department
He stressed that the portfolio of every police officer should incorporate all of the duties and offences encapsulated in the Police Act and the Criminal Code.
Regarding crime fighting, the Minister of National Security spoke about the resources that have been provided to the constabulary to fight crime.
He said police officers are trained on a continuous basis, both locally and internationally.
He further pointed out that the size of the constabulary has increased to 900 officers and police stations have been built or refurbished since his government came to office in March 2001.
The prime minister said these initiatives are geared toward improving the crime fighting strategies and response capabilities of the police force.
He lamented the need for police officers to practice effective community policing and advised officers not to stay in the stations but to go out in the communities to “meet and greet”.
Gonsalves said that by so doing, the public’s trust in the police will be improved, thereby allowing for more productive police-public partnerships.
This, he said, will augur well for crime-fighting in the country.
Gonsalves urged the officers to be advocates of the constabulary’s agenda and not to act contrary to it.
He admonished police officers to take time out to prepare their case files in a more professional and timely manner.
Gonsalves, a lawyer, said an incomplete or under-investigated case file gives the defence the upper hand during a trial and as a result, the perpetrator of the crime(s) could walk free.
A clear admission from the very top that our police don’t know their duties and are not properly enforcing the laws of the state.
Unstated is the underlying causes of this, namely the poor recruitment, deficient training, and indifferent supervision of the members of the force.
If true be told, our best, brightest, and most highly motivated citizens do not aspire to a career in policing. As a result, the police are selected from a lazy and barely literate cohort of applicants most of whose members are not even suited to work as security guards.
Not necessarily true there are some intelligent officers in the force, plus policing provides employment for most young people who do not have a Gofather in high places to pull strings for them to get the other high end jobs. The main problem with the force is that most of the brightest officers don’t get to the top because of politics. Maybe if the pay was better, then more educated people would join. Why don’t you write a piece on this instead of insulting the hard working men and women who protect and serve.
I agree with your comment Anna ……except for politics the reason for not getting to the top………even thought one may be intelligent , hard work , dedication and determination plus persistence is what earn you rewards in life . People in our country expects things to “fall in our lap “
1. They are not hardworking.
2. They are not intelligent.
3. They are not well trained.
Hence they are unable to “protect and serve.”
These are not insults; these are facts that any Vincentian who has had interaction with the police knows are true.
The community policing is a very important notation and yes can be very effective once implemented properly . But the question remains to see ……will some of these lazy officers take to action ……while to note there are many hard working and good officers as well.
I think that’s a good thing the PM has taken the time to talk to the police officers . It is vrhy important for police officers to be ultra professionals in executing their jobs , and yes community policing is a must the lack of community policing make people feel they could get away with committing crimes. The visibility of a uniform policeman in any community alwsys give the people a sense of security.So I gave the PM an A+.
Talk is cheap; see if his encouragement of community policing will ever work. I doubt that it will because if there is anything these police hate, especially the growing cadre of obese officers, is walking in hot sun.
When are we going to read in the papers that Mr. Gonsalves has created a few hundred jobs. All we get are these pseudo interllectual speeches about everything. Had he been doing a proper job for the past (nearly) two decades, things might have been different today. I guess (he thinks that) he needs more time (and then some more). Poor SVG, LHU. PM kicking the can down the road again?