by Commissioner of Police – Keith G. Miller

This is the second time that I will be celebrating Christmas with you as your Commissioner. It is, therefore, incumbent on me to urge you to reflect on the reason for the season and to remember that the Christ child whose birth we as Christians celebrate, came into this world to bring us cheer, peace, hope and goodwill.{{more}}

I urge you to share with the less fortunate, help those who cannot help themselves and offer love to your colleagues, family and friends. It will not go unnoticed, but help to forge a better relationship and create the avenue for peace and love in the New Year.

This year has been a very challenging one for us. How-ever, your tremendous work has ensured that peace and stability continue across our beloved country. The statistics show that crimes are either falling or have remained stable in all major categories, except for homicides. This remarkable success is attributable to the efforts of every policeman/woman of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force and the Government and people of this state who have my love, thanks and commendation.

We have achieved significant advances during the year. I proudly note the achievements that we have made in our quest to professionalise the organization and to improve the environment in which we work. I speak of the acquisition of several vehicles, the commencement of construction work on Questelles Police Station, the refurbishment of Sandy Bay Police Station and the near completion of renovation to Kingstown, Layou, Barrouallie, Chateaubelair, Mesopotamia and Stubbs Police Stations.

These are substantial gains in which we can all be proud. However, we must not allow ourselves to become complacent or we run the risk of eroding the strides that we have made.

We perform an integral role in this beautiful country, and in doing so, exhibit resilience, tenacity and strength when faced with obstacles, and on many occasions abuse from the lawless who wrongfully interfere with the performance of our duty. This year has shown that in working together with the community, we have achieved many of our goals. It is by working in unity that we can face the challenges together. As we head towards the coming year, I am confident that we will continue to make a difference.

With the characteristic determination and courage of our personnel and the support of our families, loved ones and helpful law abiding citizens, we will continue to achieve our mandate, improving the capability, efficiency and social status of every policeman /woman and the security and safety of the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

In recent times, a number of baseless allegations of brutality have been exaggerated in some quarters by persons who want to taint us with alleged activities of brutality associated with the police in Zimbabwe, Dar Fur, Rwanda, or throughout Africa under the Apartheid System. How can they be so irresponsible and tarnish the good name of our dedicated officers who try their best to perform their duty, notwithstanding the adverse and dangerous circumstances under which they work, in an effort to maintain law and order? However, I urge you the rank and file of our organization not to be dissuaded by these unwarranted attacks, but to continue to be professional and steadfast in your interaction and cooperation with the public. Nevertheless, there may be a few among us who continue to harm the Organization with their bad attitude and their involvement in unsavoury activities. The Police Force, which I am privileged to lead, has absolutely no room for those whose activities contravene our dignity, character and oath which we swore to uphold and the laws which govern us.

I urge my right-thinking colleagues to stand for honesty and integrity as we continue to transform the Organization into a more professional entity.

Our challenges have been enormous. Homicide and other violent crimes, drug trafficking, trafficking in illegal firearms and ammunition, possession and the use of these illegal items, remain the focal point of concern. However, the trafficking of drugs has been severely disrupted due to the vigilance of our Intelligence, Rapid Response and Narcotics Units and the Coast Guard. We are determined to see that homicides and other acts of criminality are prevented or minimized. In our quest to do so, a number of our officers have received training at Institutions overseas in Narcotics Investigation, Firearms Trafficking and Methods to combat illicit trafficking in arms and as, Ammunitions Specialists. In 2008, we will continue our efforts to have our officers trained in various disciplines so that we maintain a cadre of officers ready to face the challenges that we encounter.

In fact, these challenges are not unique to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but plague our region. For this reason, the Regional Security System (RSS) Council of Ministers mandated the Security Chiefs to devise a Regional Strategy to deal with these challenges. As a result, Youth programs, continuous training and coordinated strategic maritime patrols are amongst the recommendations being put forward.

Despite these challenges, I wish to assure the citizens of St. Vincent and the Grenadines that the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force will not renounce its responsibility of providing security, and is making every effort to have a reduction in crimes. Formidable measures have been put in place to ensure that citizens go about the Christmas celebrations in peace.

On behalf of the Officers and other ranks of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, the Royal St. Vincent Auxiliary Police Force, the St. Vincent Cadet Force, the St. Vincent Port Police, and on my own behalf, I wish the citizens and visitors of St. Vincent and the Grenadines a blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year. May God bless us all.