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From left, Bordelais Director Hilary Herman, Security Minister Guy Mayers, Police Commissioner Ausbert Regis and pathologist and keynote speaker Dr Stephen King.
Those attending the Course 30 Passing Out Parade at the St Lucia Police Force Academy on Friday March 5 looked on with pride as a new set of recruits made their way into the Bordelais Correctional Facility and the Royal St Lucia Police Force. The ceremony celebrated the graduation of the recruits from their initiation but it also signaled a new phase in their lives.
Forty correctional officers and 58 potential police officers made their way onto the parade square, decked out in their dress uniforms, heads held high, awaiting inspection and seamlessly executing their march pass when the time came.
Police Commissioner Ausbert Regis, Director of Corrections Hilary Herman, Home Affairs and National Security Minister Guy Mayers, Director of Public Prosecution Victoria Charles-Clarke, Chief Justice Hugh Rawlins and High Court Judge Justice Kenneth Benjamin were all present along with other dignitaries to witness this momentous occasion in the lives of these 98 men and women.
The recruits, who began their training in August 2009, were awarded for their efforts during the six-month course.
The awardees are: Language and Communication-CO Fortunata Collymore, Best Debating Team-PC 344 Justin Prospere and PC 62 Sidney Joseph, Best Speaker-PC 344 Justin Prospere, Best Prepared Kit-CO Fortunata Collymore, Best Physical Training (Male)-PC 375 Alister Nelson, Best Physical Training (Female)-WPC 126 Anna John, Best Self Defense (Male)-PC 780 Michael St Paul, Best Self Defense (Female)-WPC 131 Gifania Edmunds, Best Pistol Shot-PC 251 Nikel Wmmanuel, Best Rifle Shot-PC 559 Junior Mason and CO Heyliger Pascal, Best Military Subjects-WPC 13 Jahlin Joseph, Best Police Duty Subjects-WPC 55 Cymantha Mitchel, Best Correctional Duty Subjects-CO Fortunata Collymore, Best at Drills-PC 433 Thadious Thomas, Best Turned Out Recruit, PC 62 Sidney Joseph. CO Jamius Descartes was named the Best Correctional Recruit Throughout Course 30 and was presented with the Baton of Honuor. Likewise, WPC 13 Jahlin Joseph got the Best Police Recruit Thoughout Course 30 and was also presented with the Baton of Honour. Additionally, WPC 13 Joseph was the Valedictorian for the course and sent her colleagues on their way with a heart-warming farewell.
Commissioner Regis addressed his new troops, reminding them that nothing short of their best will be accepted. To illustrate this, he reminded the recruits that initially, there were 100 participants for the course. However, 98 graduated. Section 17 of the Police Act outlines that police recruits will initially be appointed for two years and during this time, they will be considered to be on probation. Regis encouraged the recruits to do their best during these two years.
“I have no doubt that given your performance over the period and the potential you have shown, you will live up to the task,” Regis said. “I feel confident that when I retire, I will leave the Royal St Lucia Police Force in the hands of competent men and women who can protect me in my latter years.”
Addressing the challenges the recruits will face, the commissioner said: “We are facing very challenging times right now. We are facing a new breed of criminals. Criminals that persons like myself did not experience in our formative years on the force. But I am confidence that you, being the new breed of police officers, you are up to the task and you will overcome the challenges that the new breed of criminals pose to our society. The future of the force rests on your shoulders. You are the brightest among us. Some of us here are more experienced but you are the brightest. You are the sharpest minds. You are the ones that we depend on to make it happen.”
Police recruits looking sharp during their March Pass.
In closing, Regis left the recruits with some food for thought. “As bright as you think you are, as intelligent as you think you are, I want to urge you to seek God’s assistance and his direction. Every morning you may leave home without your wallet but do not leave without God.”
Hilary Herman also addressed his new correctional officers and hit the nail on the head in his first sentence: “The real world begins on Monday.” His address was short but effective. “Your organization, its leadership and the taxpaying public have high expectations of you. The choices are yours. You can blend in and become just another public servant or you can be the best correctional officer or the best police officer that you can be. You can sit or you can stand. You can blaze your own trail as a future leader of our organizations or you can be just another civil servant. Your immediate task as of Monday, is to improve and uphold the image of a professional corrections officer. I encourage you to study your profession, learn the best practices, educate yourself and make every effort to educate some of the dinosaurs that we still have around.”
Concluding, the director said: “I leave you with two simple rules as you report for duty at the Bordelais Correctional Facility: always say what you mean and mean what you say, and two, please do not bring anything into the facility and do not take anything out.”
Home Affairs and National Security Minister, Senator Guy Mayers, appealed to the recruits to be the best person and the best officer they can possibly be. “The profession you have chosen is consistently under scrutiny. It is important for you to be aware of what you are bringing to the organization. Who you are in public is what the members of this society will see in the Royal St Lucia Police Force and the Bordelais Correctional Facility. You have now become a mirror. A mirror that will reflect what the average citizen sees as a police officer and a correctional officer.”
Mayers revealed that another 60 recruits are already being sourced.
Pathologist, Dr Stephen King delivered the keynote address to the recruits and hit several nerves with his inspirational words. At the beginning to the ceremony, a minute of silence was observed for recently deceased Corporal Vincent Trevor Peters who was gunned down at the Castries Waterfront and also for SPC Titus St Juste who died of natural causes. Dr King took this opportunity to remember Lester Garvin Remy, who died tragically in 2008. Dr King urged the recruits not to abuse their newly acquired positions.
Said Dr King, “Power is always tempting and law enforcement officers, you will have power. You will need to be careful to ensure that you use that power to create good. If you use it otherwise, you will suffer the fate of those who abuse power. These temptations of material needs and desires, power, vanity and pride, are ones that we all experience and know well. As officers, I ask, you must develop understanding. You need to know yourself first and foremost.”
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WE NEED A NEW BREED OF COMMISSIONER!!!
i wish our new officers the best …gods guidance….and progress…..may god bless you all and may god bless stlucia……..now to you mr regis after years of st lucia green goners crime has gotten worse,so i hope you stop dressing our ssu like idiots and have a swat team instead of a bunch of thugs who think they are above the law or guess what expect more of the same…..ONLY IDIOTS KEEP DOING THE SAME THING AND EXPECT A DIFFERENT OUTCOME….STLUCIA NICE
I agree with you with regards to dress code. In this day and age, these guys don’t look intimidating at all, esp those we have wearing the little poom poom shorts is a joke to the criminals out there. I guess that can be in the cards of revamping the police force.
“…public order, personal security, economic and social progress, and prosperity are not the natural order of things, that they depend on ceaseless effort and attention…” - Lee Kuan Yew
1. I would like to congratulate those new recruits and wish them well. There is a common saying of CYA, however, it is always better to think before you act than to resort to covering stuff up.
2. The government and the public need to understand that now is the time for a new commissioner and senior team. In any organization whether the leader is performing great or not, he or she is not left there indefinitely. Regis has had his time, it is time to source a new leader and vision for the Police. His successors should be put to the test before giving them the job as this boys club seems to be experiencing a right of passage syndrome. Whoever wants the top jobs needs to prepare and submit (realistic) ideas and if they make no sense, then he/she should not be put in the position to embarrass the Police and the Country.
3. The government needs to stop having those senior officers going on vacation for a whole year. How can you have a senior member of staff away from an organization for over a year. Many policies, directions and decisions change during that period. How is this person supposed to fit back in after being out for so long. Either someone monitors their leave, or give it to them after their tenure if the government cannot pay for it.
4. Something needs to be done with the City. I do not want to scare anyone, but if you can count to fifteen (15) and not see a police officer in the city, there is no way someone who snatches your bag and runs away can be caught. The may be officers in plain clothes, however, part of deterring the crime is to let them see the officers in uniform.
Prevention is better than cure.
enough said
PS….. perhaps the Star could consider printing some of the comments from us online readers onto their newspaper so that those who read the hard copy papers and have no access to internet can know that others are concerned.
You would notice that most of the STAR people speak sections are taken directly from the STAR website from the most talked about stories. People Speak appears in every Saturday edition.