Police Welfare Officers urged to have harmonious relations within

Senior Magistrate in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Colin John, has encouraged delegates attending the Caribbean Federation of Police Welfare Associations (CFPWA), 12th Annual General Meeting to foster a non-adversarial environment amongst their members as, “There is no advantage in having enemies”.

The Senior Magistrate, who attended the opening ceremony of the annual general meeting of the CFPWA on Wednesday May 9, 2024, left delegates who travelled from across the Caribbean to St Vincent with a word of advice, which speaks to the theme of the event- ‘Unity, Resilience, and Empowerment: Navigating Challenges, Shaping Tomorrow for Law Enforcement Officers Across the Region’. The purpose of this meeting was to have discussions that will shape the future of law enforcement in the Caribbean.

The opening ceremony for the three-day event, held at the Methodist Church Hall in Kingstown, saw delegates attending from 18 countries and territories in the region.

John said that the Welfare Association is integral to the proper management of the Police Force and national security. Further, that the members of these associations are primarily junior persons, and are literally and figuratively the foot soldiers of the organisations.

“They are the ones that are in the engine room of the organisation…we have to make sure the engine is well oiled and is in proper working condition; so we have to ensure that we have a good relationship with the members of the Police Welfare Association.”

John implored the officers that while they are looking out for their members, not to do it in an adversarial manner, as there is no advantage in having enemies.

“Some years ago, a local band sang a song, ‘After cussing and fighting and a break up, there’s nothing sweeter than a kiss and make up’, but we don’t have to do the cuss and the fight part. We could just do the kiss and the make up part, so avoid the cuss and the fight part of it.”

He also advised the delegates to encourage their members to be disciplined.

“You can’t allow your members to come to work when they feel like, or speak to members of the public how they feel like, or involve in acts of dishonesty taking bribes, getting involved in drugs, smoking drugs, selling drugs.”

The Senior Magistrate said as well that whenever members get themselves involved in these activities, their superiors should let them know that “this is definitely not what the Police Welfare Association is about”.

“You should encourage them to be professional at all times. I have attended this conference before when I was the president of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police, that was in Jamaica. I was grilled and drilled by the members of the organisation. I think they had me there for about more than hour asking me questions,” John recounted, while adding that through this experience, he was able to witness first hand how seriously members of the organisation take their job.

“And I have no doubt that is the same. I’ve seen some very heated arguments within the Police Welfare Association. I encourage you to advocate strongly for your members, to continue hard for their best interests and for their welfare.”