Rural constables are required to be of good character – Gonsalves

The process of recruiting suitable candidates to be trained as rural constables was no easy task.{{more}}

So said Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves while commenting on the small number of men who were deemed qualified for the task.

Gonsalves, speaking at a ceremony to commission the constables on June 28, said that the processes of getting the right number of recruits proved challenging, particularly since some of the applicants, especially the males, were discovered to have had previous agricultural and or livestock theft convictions.

Some even had multiple convictions, the Prime Minister said.

“Man have 3 and 4 convictions for thiefing coconut and dasheens,” the Prime Minister lamented.

“Apparently the thought was that the best person to watch the cheese was the rat,” he added.

Dr Gonsalves assured farmers and the public at large that the selection of rural constables was done through a process that ensured that they were of good character.

“Because like the rest of the police force, they had to meet standards,” he said.