Jackson offers training for police officers

“I will make opportunities available in Bermuda to give specialist training to any personnel who require it.”

This is the promise made by Commissioner of the Bermuda Police service, Vincentian George Jackson when he addressed the gathering at the cocktail reception held at the Prime Minister’s official residence in his honour. {{more}}

Admitting that his country’s police force is partly responsible for depleting the Vincentian and other police forces throughout the Caribbean of qualified officers, Jackson promised to reduce the number of officers accepted from the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force in the future.

Among the areas of training that can be made available are those of firearm training, incident commanding, advance driving and forensic investigation.

Jackson told the gathering that included government ministers, former and current police officers along with members of his family, that Bermuda is currently dealing with the rise of Loosely Organized Gangs (LOGs) which has prompted the Bermudian government to decide to increase the maximum number of officers in the constabulary from 464 to over 500. He said that they are short of about 70 officers.

Speaking at the cocktail, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves congratulated Commissioner Jackson on his appointment as the top cop in Bermuda. Noting that Jackson is the second Vincentian to become Commissioner outside of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Gonsalves said that it is an indication of the contribution that citizens of this country have made throughout the region.

Commissioner Jackson was invited by local Commissioner of Police Keith Miller to present a lecture to the local police force on the topic of change management. It was scheduled for Tuesday, August 22, at the Peace Memorial Hall.