BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, August 25, 2017 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Commissioner of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, Mr. Ian Queeley, has refuted suggestions that the addition of National Security Advisor, Major General Stewart Saunders, compromises the work of the Commissioner of Police.
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As National Security Advisor, Major General Saunders is responsible for coordinating the various elements of the security apparatus in St. Kitts and Nevis. He will, among other things, contribute to the formulation of national security policies and serve on any committee, commission, board or authority that deal with issues of national security at the direction of the prime minister.
Responding to a question posed during Thursday’s press conference at the Police Training School, Commissioner Queeley said he strongly believes the work of the National Security Advisor will only serve to complement his own responsibilities as the police commissioner.
“The National Security Advisor is a constitutional post created and I do not, in any way, shape or form see how it can compromise my job as the Commissioner of Police. As a matter of fact, I see it as being complementary with the National Security Advisor. In his capacity as the National Security Advisor, it is only natural that he would have dialogue with the Commissioner of Police and heads of other agencies that fall within the gambit of national security but I do not agree with the statement that the National Security Advisor’s role is in conflict in any way with that of the Commissioner of Police,” Mr. Queeley said..
Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, has on several occasions, stated clearly that the role of the National Security Advisor is a very important and auspicious position in the national security structure of the federation and one that further fulfills a requirement of law and the Constitution of St. Kitts and Nevis.
The honourable prime minister has also stressed that the National Security Advisor is not a replacement for the High Command.
“He is not the Commissioner of Police; he is not the Commander of the Defence Force; he is not the Superintendent of Prisons, but all of these are, as it were, security agencies fulfilling their own mandate. What the framers of the Constitution contemplate was that they needed somebody who could coordinate the activities between and among all these national security agencies so that we could have a wholesome product. We have realized the necessity of that,” Dr. Harris said during a recent meeting with representatives of the religious community in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Major General Saunders brings to the post of National Security Advisor over 40 years of distinguished public service dealing with crime at the operational, strategic and policy levels.
