After experiencing a fully charged and extremely eventful election season, Vincentians at home and in the diaspora have been weighing in on the changes they would like the current administration to make under the guise of reforming our beautiful state.
One of the most highly debated topics is the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF), more specifically, who should be selected to lead this essential organisation.
As a member of this organization, I, along with a high percentage of the force, anticipated and welcomed the change in government. Our decisions were not fuelled by favouring one party over the other, but by the reality that we were being sacrificed for the benefit of the few. I can say, from my diaphragm to my Vincentian population, that the air within the police force feels lighter. The voices of oppression have since been tamed. Some who were for years thought to have been blinded have since regained their sight and are calling things for what they are.
Let me get to the reason why I am writing. I want to address a concern of mine that stemmed from a conversation I had with a personal friend, a friend who, like me, is a police officer who has the same conviction.
He said, “Nothing is going to change in the organisation even with a change in police administration.”
I argued and tried my very best to change his perspective.
Today, however, I found myself with conflicting thoughts. After listening to a Hot 97 debate on whether the current administration should allow the outspokenness of police officers on issues experienced, due to the likelihood of backlash; after reading articles on iWitness News of persons championing my colleague Brenton Smith; and after seeing Facebook posts detesting the option of Assistant Commissioner of Police Trevor Bailey as commissioner, I have come to realise that my optimism may have been unrealistic or even too hopeful.
This is why I have come to this realisation. Policing and politics are different things, and if we are not able to set politics aside and be as humanly objective in the choices to be made, we run the risk of repeating what the previous administration did, conflating the two.
Like Brenton Smith, I do believe that reform of the police force will make a difference in crime fighting in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I also believe that management is the main cause of the issues faced within the organisation.
However, I do not believe that making the changes suggested by my colleague Brenton Smith without first assessing our effectiveness as an organisation will be successful. I am not saying that my colleague ever hinted that he would look past an assessment; I am saying that if we are speaking about reform, we must first look at the foundation we stand on and make a decision on whether we are to continue to build on it, or to knock it down and reinforce the build.
Additionally, the leader of the police force must be someone who is cognisant that we are not doing well currently and that this is not due to a lack of manpower. He must be able to understand that continuous development is a must, even when we are performing well. He must be someone that is qualified, have exhibited the competence to function within role, and must be of good character. He must be someone who has a vision, can communicate it, and knows that he needs competent people at his side to see this vision through.
Although this leader is a political appointee, he or she should not be appointed solely because of political affiliation. Ensuring that we select the best leaders for this organisation ensures that the bridge between the public and the police is reinforced and maintained. The organisation’s mandate is to the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and not to the government, so that selected leader should be seen as an upstanding member of society, not someone who is unable to behave ethically in office.
More importantly, the laws of St. Vincent and the Grenadines must make it easier for police officers to hold offenders accountable. To ensure the police have the best possible chance to be successful in deterring and investigating crime, the necessary legislation must be in place. I am not here to debate what these legislations are, but an effort must be made by the current administration to ensure that they are identified, reformed, and in absence, enacted swiftly.
An assessment must also be made of the judicial system and on what is causing the lag. There needs to be an unclogging. There is no need for a child to remain in the judicial system seeking justice in a sexual matter for eight years before it is resolved. That is utter nonsense. It places a major strain on the police, the child, and the judicial system itself.
So, when we are having these conversations, which I appreciate and welcome, we must allow ourselves to be objective, free from political bias and the associated affiliations. To those of us who think that voices identifying issues within the system can potentially lead to the downfall of the government, rethink your disposition. Where the voices of the people are inaudible or non-existent, the will of the government will eventually outweigh the will of the people, and that, my friends, is a repetition of history. When these conversations are had, ineffectiveness and displeasure wane, and all of St. Vincent and the Grenadines prospers.
I wish to make this final insertion: “The eyes looking into the police organisation always have a different perspective from the eyes looking outward.”
An Observer Looking Outward
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