AG calls for a paper on measures to remedy certain deficiencies in the police ranks

With the Barbados Police Service (BPS) facing a significant deficit in manpower, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Dale Marshall has suggested that steps be taken to review the prospect of implementing an auxiliary or reserve police service.

Marshall, who addressed the issue of the service’s 278 vacancies in the ranks during Wednesday’s opening ceremony of the Barbados Police Service’s Annual Grand Conference 2022 at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St Michael, reminded the audience that the Police Act makes provisions for the special constabulary to perform aspects of policing. The service is legally authorized to have 1 530 officers,.

However, the Attorney General said he has been advised that due to various factors, alternative arrangements were made in the 1990s not in keeping with the legislation, resulting in the police service not having a credible auxiliary.

“I am advised that at least two English-speaking Caribbean countries have police auxiliary units, however they are called. I am also advised that in the UK, police community support officers are employed to assist the frontline police officers in policing national events and also to provide support as required in other circumstances,” he said.

Marshall said he has also been told that a significant number of applicants are burdened by requirements that disqualify them for police service. He noted that the best qualified candidates prefer to seek employment elsewhere, particularly in the private sector. He said it is also worthy of note that the number of female applicants significantly outnumber males.

The Attorney General said a number of questions should be answered that would determine how the BPS should go about filling the vacancies.

“As for the optimum number for police service, internationally this is determined by a number of factors even though they are not universally agreed on. Should it be determined by our crime rate? Should it depend on the demand for services demanded by our communities, or by a combination of these variables? Should the various cutting-edge tasks performed by officers be taken into account? What about the allocation of time away from work to combat fatigue, or time away from work to facilitate training?” Marshall said.

“These are all matters that require your urgent attention and I am asking that you send me a paper outlining these issues as you see them and also possible responses. What are the positions in the service that are currently performed by the same police officers that could be performed by civilians? What would the benefits package including monetary and non-monetary elements for police officers generally, but also one that would attract new entrants, look like?” he added.
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb