RSVGPF provides more training for officers

The Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF), continues its drive to fulfill its obligation to provide the requisite training to officers in various areas of law enforcement, and to ultimately improve the quality of service the organization provides to the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The police force, in partnership with IMPACT Justice, began a three-day workshop on the March 19, at the Old Montrose Police Training School, on “Laws of evidence, report writing, interviewing and interrogation techniques”. Thirty police officers attended the workshop, geared towards police investigators throughout the rank and file of the organization, and seeking to provide specialized training in specific areas.

Delivering remarks at the opening ceremony on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) John Ballah described the workshop as vital and timely, due to the fact that the legal system is constantly changing. He further encouraged the officers, whom he acknowledged to be very knowledgeable in the field, to use their knowledge to contribute to the success of the workshop. The ASP also urged each participant to keep an open mind. He expressed his confidence in the workshop to better equip the officers to provide a higher level of service to the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

IMPACT JUSTICE, the coordinators of the workshop, is a civil society justice sector project being funded by the Government of Canada and implemented within the Caribbean Law Institute at the University of the West Indies, UWI, Cave Hill Campus. IMPACT JUSTICE has in the past, trained educators, non-governmental organizations, social workers and probation officers from St Vincent and the Grenadines in restorative practices and mediation and has chosen to broaden their scope, towards training law enforcement personnel.

The workshop is facilitated by Bertie Hinds Consulting, led by former deputy commissioner of police in Barbados and more recently the deputy executive director of the Regional Security System Bertie Hinds. Hinds was assisted by Tyrone Sergeant, a former senior superintendent of police, also from Barbados.