217 officers promoted after year-long wait

After more than a year of delays, 217 rank-and-file members of The Barbados Police Service have finally been promoted to senior constable in a long-promised elevation intended to improve morale and strengthen frontline policing.

The promotions were confirmed on Wednesday during a ceremony at the police band headquarters, District ‘A’ Complex, Station Hill.

The move follows a ministerial statement in June, in which Attorney General Dale Marshall reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving police welfare. At that time, he disclosed that 300 new posts for senior constables had been created, with back pay from April 2024.

“While implementation took longer than we had initially intended, due to the necessary alignment between the ranks of senior constable and sergeant, the matter has now been resolved,” Marshall said in Parliament. “A supplementary is being requested, and we anticipate that eligible officers will soon begin receiving their back pay from April 2024.”

Under the revised system, any officer who has served 20 years without promotion to the rank of sergeant or higher, and who is not facing disciplinary charges, qualifies for appointment as a senior constable. There are 300 vacancies for the position.

Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce described Wednesday’s ceremony as a milestone in the service’s history: “May this occasion bring happiness and joy to all the faces in this room, and may persons acknowledge the significance of this occasion, because it is one which was occasioned not because you are just a member of the organisation by number, but it’s an occasion to acknowledge the tremendous support of the goodly gentlemen and ladies in the organisation.”

He urged the officers to embrace the responsibilities of their new rank, noting that many had waited years for the promotion: “Persons in this room I know would have given up years ago, months ago, even weeks ago…. But this afternoon proves that the occasion has truly arrived and you can sit comfortably knowing that you have been elevated in the organisation…. It also brings to each and every one that level of satisfaction that you are now moving up the realm of the ladder, that you can now reach down and train persons under your charge.”

The commissioner reminded the newly promoted officers that senior constables are expected to act in a supervisory capacity in the absence of a sergeant: “Whether it is giving advice to members of the public… dealing with a dispute, or making sure persons make the correct entries in the diary… it is for you to carry these duties fully and develop the appetite for briefing the substantive sergeant when they return to the station.”

Boyce also acknowledged that much of the police service’s heavy lifting is done at the lower ranks.

He said: “Ninety per cent of the work which is done in this organisation is done by the lower ranks, and if the lower ranks have to do that type of work, then they must have the knowledge, they must have that level of responsibility…. So being a senior constable in the organisation tells you that you have to come to work each and every day, you have to make sure that persons under your charge make up their files, you have to ensure that the duties are flowing [well] and [there are] no gaps.”

Police Constable 471 Tyrone Straker, who died last month, had been on the list for promotion. The posthumous senior rank will be presented to his widow later this week.

The longest-serving male constable, Desmond Linton, who at the end of this month will have served 45 years, delivered remarks on behalf of his colleagues.

“It fills me with a sense of happiness, achievement, and appreciation for service to our country, and I am sure it does the same to you, my fellow recipients,” he said. “I commend you for your service as constables, and I encourage you to serve your country with the same pride, dedication, and commitment as senior constables. Finally, I would like to thank God for his blessings, guidance, and protection through this journey, our families for their steadfast support and the administration of the police service for publicly acknowledging our contribution to the country.”

Among those promoted was the longest-serving WPC, Sayleen Hinds, who has dedicated 39 years of service.

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb