Police officers urged to respond quickly to crime

Police officers who receive a report of a crime should respond to that report between three to five minutes, once they are in a position to do so.

This was made clear by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Frankie Joseph, who noted that it is the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force’s (RSVGPF) response policy, but at times it is ignored by officers.

“Our policy is that you must respond or you should respond. Sometimes, we do not respond in that time because of various reasons. Sometimes it is tardiness on behalf of the police; they stay in the station and really and truly do not respond…,” the Deputy Commissioner said during the police ‘On The Beat’ programme on NBC Radio on January 7, 2025.

He said though, that some officers are not to be blamed for a slow response, but should strive at all times to stick to the policy in an effort to be more effective in crime fighting.

The Deputy Commissioner mentioned several scenarios that may result in a slow response time, including the unavailability of a vehicle, but also noted that there are instances where officers could respond on foot. He said also that there are times that the transport is responding to a call when another report is made, and that can also be problematic.

“…they can call the transport and it can be diverted,” the Deputy COP advised, while also encouraging members of the public to assist the police by saying something is they see something.

He said as well that police officers have been advised that persons who call to report a crime should not be asked their location, identity, or phone number once they choose not to make that information available.

“I want the general public to be smart. Private your number and call the police, and if you call the police station phone, there is no caller’s ID to show your number.

“We told officers that anyone who calls to give confidential information, what is important is the information and not the person, and at no time should the officer be asking what is your name, where are you calling from; and if you call and they ask, just hang up the phone,” the Deputy Commissioner stressed.

He added that police officers who answer phones have been repeatedly told not to ask a caller for personal information.

“…don’t give them any information They were told not to ask any caller their name, number or where they are calling from…you do not have to walk into a police station for people to say you went to inform,” Deputy Commissioner Joseph stressed.

He acknowledged that 2024 was a challenging one for law enforcement in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), especially in relation to homicides, with 54 being recorded.

However, the Deputy Commissioner pointed to a few success stories for law enforcement, even though the homicide count was only one less than the 55 recorded in 2023.

He said in the last three months of 2024, SVG was on a trajectory where it seemed as though “we were going to break, and set a new record” in relation to homicides, but members of the constabulary stepped up.

“I know 54 homicides is very, very high; it is way too high for a country like St Vincent and the Grenadines where we are just about 110,000 persons, but we were able to, in the last few months, take control of things, and as a result of that we only reached 54 homicides.”

“So,our challenge in 2025 is to ensure that the momentum that we take into this year from the ending of last year that we will be able to minimize homicides in SVG, and when I say minimize, we do not even want it to reach 20.”