Nineteen police officers are among 40 persons who will be seeking to obtain their degrees through the University College of the Caribbean.{{more}}

On Thursday, September 7, the University College of the Caribbean held its orientation for 40 persons at the Old Montrose Police Station.

Among the forty, twenty-one of those individuals are staff members of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force.

Commissioner for Police Keith Miller noted that he was extremely satisfied with the level of participation by the members of the force.

“I am encouraged with what I’ve seen. It took a lot of effort to reach where we are today, because when we were in the negotiation process with the members of UCC, there were some ups and downs, but I’m very happy that we are now here at this juncture,” Miller told the gathering.

“I want to give thanks to every participant in this program for coming forward. I want to especially thank our 19 police personnel and 2 members of our civilian support staff for making the effort. To us, it is going to help us professionalize our organization. Gone are the days when we operated unprofessionally. The police force is a demanding organization and because of that, we have to prepare ourselves for our roles,” the COP said.

Miller went on to reveal that there are already a number of qualified individuals in the police ranks and “we are going to stop at nothing to ensure that as many police men and women as possible obtain a university degree!”

Also addressing the gathering was Dr. Damian Black, Deputy Chairman of the University College of the Caribbean.

During his brief address, Black thanked the participants for their bold decision for joining the UCC family.

“We know that this presents a seed that will grow and blossom into something significant over time. UCC is committed to this effort to deliver quality education at a price that is affordable to your requirements. We note that what we are doing is worth your time and effort, and I personally know that it will reflect in your professional and personal wellbeing,” Black told the participants.

The University College of the Caribbean is a privately held University College offering courses at the Diploma, Associate, Bachelor, and Master levels of education. Its core areas of focus are in Business Studies and Information Technology. The institution also offers courses in advanced education studies and law.

The university is fully registered and recognized by the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ), the official accreditation body for tertiary education in Jamaica and is a member of the Commonwealth and OAS consortia of universities.(AA)