Special training coming for top cops

This country’s police chief is wary about the pending retirement of several senior police officers, and efforts are being put in place to ensure those earmarked for promotion are fit for the task.{{more}}

“It is important that the St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force put a succession plan in place…We are at that stage,” said Commissioner Keith Miller at a press briefing last Friday.

Miller was at the time briefing journalists about talks that have been initiated between this country’s government and officials from the New York based John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Miller also noted the need for an improved criminal investigation department, citing the need for specialized investigators.

“We need our criminal investigators to be in the best shape possible to deal with reports,” Miller said.

Saying that the increased murder rate is an area of great concern to him, Miller said that he will be seeking to secure training in the areas of crime scene management and crime scene techniques, among others.

“We have a duty to perform…and we want to be in the best possible shape to execute our duty…We want to make all Vincentians safe.

We want to make our visitors to St Vincent and the Grenadines safe, and we can only do this if we are properly trained to execute our function,” Miller said.

“Our investigators are doing the best within the constraints of whatever ability they may have,” Miller added.

Meanwhile, Dr Ellen Scrivner of John Jay College said that key in the leadership training that will be offered by her school to the command staff and middle management staff of the police force is “How leaders think about solving problems.”

She said that they will also focus on communications studies, media strategies, and will stress the importance and the skills needed to develop community policing, in addition to the crime scene areas identified by Commissioner Miller.

“We will be looking at how the police work along with society on problems, particularly how they collaborate,” she said.

The College will also be looking into organizing training for fire officers, and specialized training in school security.

Richard Glover, who is the former Director of school Safety in New York City, who was part of the John Jay contingent, said that the problem of violence in schools is just the “seep through of society’s problems”.

He said that the challenge exists to make sure that students are learning in a safe environment.

As the framework for the training opportunities continues to be ironed out, Commissioner Miller admitted that scholarships and grants may not be available immediately.

He, however, urged officers to take advantage of the opportunities to advance themselves, even if they have to pay from their personal resources for now. (KJ)