Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 09, 2017 (SKNIS): Ian Queeley, Commissioner of Police of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF), urged police officers to recommit themselves to the institution’s core values, as it is imperative to defend and preserve the Force’s core values in order to perform their mission.
“We must be dedicated to the Constitution of this Federation. We must have respect and dignity for those we protect,” said Commissioner Queeley, while speaking at the Commissioner’s first Lecture Series for 2017 and the RSCNPF New Year Celebration Service on Monday, January 09, at the NEMA Conference Room. “We must be compassionate. We must be fair and firm at all times when dealing with others and we must practice uncompromising personal and institutional integrity.”
Commissioner Queeley said that integrity issues within the organization were among challenges faced in 2016, thus allowing officers to perform below standard and this must not continue in 2017.
“That, we hope, will not repeat itself. We will treat it every time and on every occasion that it rises,” said the commissioner, while adding that police officers should always lead by example. “We will put things in place to minimize if not eliminate some of these integrity issues over the New Year. “As 2017 rolls in, we want to redouble our efforts in our crime fighting area. We must redouble our efforts.”
The commissioner noted that the increase in homicides, violent crimes and break-in offences was most troubling in 2016 and said that the RSCNPF will do all that is required to reduce them.
“I would want to see us over the next 12 – 24 months based on the strategies that we would have outlined in our Strategic and Six-Point Plan of Action see a reduction in criminal activities by at least 10 percent,” he said. “I would also wish to see the reduction of fear of crime within the community because in many instances in this society the fear of crime is worse than the crime itself and so we will do what is required to ensure that that is done.”
He said that the reduction in criminal activities can and will be done, but first the institution must overcome some internal struggles. He noted that the first being that of supervisors. Commissioner Queeley noted that in 2017, it is expected that supervisors will be held more accountable and in doing so, they in turn will hold those who report to them more accountable.
Commissioner Queeley said that the Force received too many reports of instances where the institution’s response to calls from citizens and residents was inadequate. He noted that this can be properly addressed and resolved once officers recommit themselves to the core values of the Police Force.
