The Police’s community outreach in The City has received a boost from corporate Barbados.
Acting Attorney General Wilfred Abrahams today unveiled a reactivated police outpost at Lakes Folly which was refurbished by members of the business community.
In praising the initiative, Abrahams said: “Time and time again it has been said that the Government cannot do it all. So, we are therefore heartened by this initiative and the continued commitment by corporate Barbados to assist law enforcement.”
Chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association Edward Clarke (third from left) presented the reactivated outpost to Deputy Commissioner of Police Erwin Boyce (fourth from right).
The Minister urged others within the private sector to follow this example, suggesting that the outpost at St Lawrence Gap could benefit greatly from such a private-public partnership.
Abrahams said: “Other persons in the private sector should be saying to themselves that they too want to make a difference in their community.
“There is one outpost here and there is another at St Lawrence Gap that could use this type of assistance.
“However, there is no good reason why we should not have police outpost, not just in the areas that already desperately need them, but in areas where we can. This would prevent those areas from becoming areas that desperately need police presence.”
The acting attorney general pointed out that community policing has always played an integral role in tackling crime and said the time had come for the return of this type of interactive policing.
He declared: “When I was a child, we knew all of the police officers at these outposts by name. These officers were not fear figures, but they became extended members of the family.
“We had incidents where parents turned up at the school with a collins (cutlass) for the teacher and the police were always able to respond quickly because they were always in the area. So, the presence of community police officers significantly aids the police in their rapid response.”
