On Monday, July 4, 2022, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force commenced its Special Services Unit (SSU) Basic Course. The six-week paramilitary training course, is being conducted at the Saint Lucia Fire Service Training School, with a total of thirty participants of which, twenty five are males and five are females.
At the opening ceremony, the participants were greeted by Inspector Irvin Mason, the Course Chief Instructor and SSU South sub-unit Commander. Expectations of participants, the significance and demands of the upcoming weeks were emphasized by Superintendent Troy Lamontagne, the Commander of the SSU.
The course is designed to build the requisite capacity to prevent and respond to our current crime and security challenges, through intensive physical, tactical and technical training. The rigorous program includes areas such as combat fitness, land navigation, use of force, first aid, firearm training, internal security and critical incident report writing. The program will also feature a heavy emphasis on human rights and ethics. On completion, it is expected that the individuals who have successfully undergone the training will become better equipped to respond to the changing threat environment through an understanding of and development of paramilitary skills and tactics.
The planning of the exercises was sanctioned by the Commissioner of Police Milton Desir, about twelve months ago and he is pleased to see that the course has commenced, with a program that will undoubtedly groom skilled police officers who will contribute immensely towards the force’s efforts in crime reduction and overall citizen security.
