BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, February 23, 2017 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The Ministry of National Security has today, Thursday, February 23, 2017, come in for high praise “for its unwavering support of the Police Service in its efforts to fight crime, the root of crime” in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Commissioner of Police, Ian Queeley said the Police Service over the last year “has benefited from a continued commitment from the Ministry of National Security in meeting our training and material objectives to enhance our capacity building.”
“Training classes were conducted for our officers, and these training opportunities locally, regionally and internationally have now ensured greater depth within our various departments with regards to specific skill sets.
“Skill set training conducted by the Bramshill Police Advisers, a UK based company over the last year, has included such topics as Case File Preparation, Crime Scene Management, Evidence Gathering, Witness Interviewing, Surveillance Techniques and more,” the commissioner said, while addressing members of the local media corps at the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force’s first press conference for 2017.
Commissioner Queeley further stated that the prevention and reduction of crime continue to be the number one priority for the police service, adding, “over the year, we have seen a concerted effort to address all of the above, material and training support for the Service, the engagement of stakeholders with events such as the National Crime Symposium, and the establishment of the Criminal Justice Strategic Board, which would review Rehabilitation and Offender Reintegration.”
He continued, “We have seen efforts at addressing root causes with events such as the National Symposium on Crime in the partnership of consultants such as Dr. Neals Chitan, a noted social skills consultant and crime reduction specialist. Dr Chitan has engaged members across all sectors of the community from schools, social groups, to churches and individual families and even gang members.”
At his most recent press conference on February 1st, 2017, Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, under whose portfolio the Ministry of National Security falls, reiterated the commitment of his Team Unity Government to providing the law enforcement agencies with the necessary tools to fight crime.
“My government has made a sacred pledge that we will do all we can to restore the faith of the people in the agencies of law and order, and we will strive to achieve remarkable improvements in the public safety and security profile of the country,” Dr. Harris stressed, while outlining that in the 2016 and 2017 Budgets, “the government gave to the Ministry of National Security the largest ever allotments.”
At that press conference, Prime Minister Harris said the government had put in place processes and systems which lead to reward and promotion in the security services.
To date, over 40 officers have benefitted as a result of this new system, according to Commissioner Queeley.
He added, “Promotions for our deserving officers is on the up using a transparent system, where all eligible officers are given the opportunity to be considered for the available slots. Within our year in office, forty four (44) officers have been recognized for their continued hard work and were promoted to a higher rank.This is a clear indication that as we continue our efforts to improve the Police Service, top performers will be rewarded and a clear path for advancement is now laid for our officers to follow, with instruments such as the Performance Development Review (PDR) now in place to measure their performance.”
The police high command maintains it will take a unified effort from all stakeholders, including members of the public, to rid the federation of violent crimes.
