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Commentary
Force calling a few good men
Published on: 10/30/2009.
HUMAN NATURE being what it is, a police force is an indispensable part of most civilised countries, and if it is to be an effective force, then there has to be an adequate number of officers to maintain law and order, and to enforce the laws made by the country's lawmakers for the better protection of the society.
It is therefore bad news indeed when Minister of Home Affairs Freundel Stuart announced recently to the Press that this island might have to recruit police officers from beyond these shores, or hire more females. The reason given was simple. Not a sufficient number of young men were applying to join the Royal Barbados Police Force.
This is a serious matter, but with the number of possible career openings available to young men nowadays, large swathes of them might not be eager to don the uniform of a disciplined force and take the kind of risks to personal safety inherent in the career of a police officer.
The young men's trek to gaining a university degree and pursuing careers in some other profession in which there is hardly any risk to limb and life, as opposed to becoming a police officer, is perhaps one of the prices we have to pay as a society for the large social and economic development which has taken place in our country.
Time was when entry into the force was a way out of poverty and one of perhaps two avenues of social mobility for young males, the others being teaching and the civil service.
That era has passed. Independence has brought in its wake home-grown policies which have led to greater choice of careers, and becoming a police officer is now low down on the totem pole of many of our young men.
That is bad enough as it is, but the greater worry comes from other comments made by Mr Stuart. He remarked that one of the reasons for the smaller numbers of recruits was due to a more rigorous background check. He also spoke to a more disturbing issue: "A lot of people cannot pass a simple drug test and have social habits that could not make for good policing if they were admitted to the force. So the recruitment process is a serious one."
This is a very serious state of affairs, because it speaks to a wide spread of habits in the wider community that are inimical to the building of a cohesive society. The force, drawing its recruits from such a pool, is bound to be affected in recruiting as well as in trying to maintain law and order in a country that is becoming an increasingly rumbustious one.
The likelihood of recruiting officers from beyond our shores may well come to pass because, as Mr Stuart disclosed, Barbadian women in higher numbers than their male counterparts were applying to join the force; but there were existing issues of supporting mechanisms for mothers and their children that would need to be rectified.
In times past, this island exported its teachers and police officers to our sister islands; but as things now stand, Mr Stuart and his Cabinet colleagues will have to bite the bullet and import recruits from the region.
Policing is a profession which requires members of both sexes within its ranks, but given that the majority of criminal offences are committed by males, functional commonsense dictates that an overwhelming preponderance of females may not be appropriate, and that the exigencies of the situation cannot be met simply by recruiting local females.
We understand Mr Stuart's concerns and support his thinking, but importing recruits from other societies to police in this society will be a challenge, not unlike that of pouring new wine into old wine skins. And yet the minister must act, because the situation cannot remain unresolved.
7 comment found!
FEW GOOD MEN : 11/2/2009
Well it seems that its now coming to ahead but its true the RBFP cant expect to used old methods of training in a new era. And sad to say the attitude of the senior rank and file as a know it all, can do all attitude needs to go and them with it.They are living in the stone ages.The training and the structure of its units.Pay and benifits are also left to be desired however its no excuse for the forces personnel to short change the tax payers they took an oath to protect and serve. Come guys and gals the bdf dont have the luxury that you have like going on a sick out and so on when you arent happy with a situation, So lets get somne work done for our taxes please.
easy fix : 10/31/2009
easiest way to attract bright young people to the force is simply to affiliate the training school with either the community college or UWI this would enable recruits to earn college credits for training done at the Regional Police Training School. In New York this is the case and officers are Given 60 College credits for police academy training. Its time Officials in Barbados start thinking outside the box especially when the box is over a hundred years old.. Another way is to bring back accelerated promotion so gifted people will be encouraged to the force and not expect to be patrolling Bridgetown on foot for 15 years. Frankly I thinks its time to do away with that graduating step up the ladder. Three years as a constable to gain practical experience then promotions should be based on performance and qualification not who u know or are related to.
Nice : 10/31/2009
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Cop out : 10/30/2009
All to often we get caught up in supporting comments without engaging in critical thinking. Thankfully Nigel D and overseas bajn cop identified issues that serve to deepen the analysis regarding the situation of too fee local police recruits. I agree that the RBPF needs to recruit personnel that are graduate and post-graduate trained in areas of criminology, psychology, social work, forensics, and the law. As a community we still have the mentality that "you should be good yuh have a job" which seems to negate any effort to develop additional benefits for workers. It is borne out in the idea that women recruits are problematic, because of the need for additional resources that would need to be put in place to accomodate greater female presence in the RBPF. I can think of several other professions that do not offer creche or other support services for women and the absence of these services do not prevent women from giving commendable and efficient service. In deed, child care and other support services should be made available across the board to all families not just limited to one profession. So unlike the editorial writer, I do not support Mr. Stuart's thinking, rather I would challenge the AG to think creatively in the circumstances.
NOT AT ALL : 10/30/2009
There is NO quick fix to this very serious plan.We are considered an educated nation and we must take oud POLICE FORCE to the next level and transform it into an educational institution.I already outline the MUST do inforder to make it and it CANNOT be in less than three years. We are dealing with a chronic situation and it needs transformational management which the Force is lacking. Have any of you including the AG recognize that the POLICE FORCE is being managed in 2010 as it was in 1910. Have any of you recognized including the AG that we are still following the same recruting guidelines in 2010 as we did in 1910. Come on you guys always try to kill the people who know and who can make a difference because you have difficulty realting to high standards. Wake UP
Forward thinking strategy required : 10/30/2009
Both the editorial and Mr. Stuart are missing salient points. You have to raise the bar and attempt to recruit, to use your terminology, higher up the totem pole. Your editorial seems to suggest that going off to acquire a university degree precludes entry to the Police Force. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a degree and joining the force. Pay the Force adequately, significantly improve the working conditions, and the applications will start flowing in from local qualified inviduals. We do not need to recruit outisde. I am very familiar with a North American Police Force where MBA's and PHD's abound. This Force has now become a quality establishment with very qualified individuals. Barbados can start heading in this direction. We need a forward thinking strategic plan.
A FEW GOOD MEN : 10/30/2009
As a barbadian who left these shores and went overseas to join a police force some years ago, i have some advice for the Honorable Minister. The conditions of Service in Barbados for the police needs a very urgent and drastic review. For example, apart from a very competitive salary to rival the private sector, my force has full medical benefits for the officers and partial benefits for wives/children, overtime for court appearances whilst off duty, full dental benefits, eyeglasses free over 40, to name a few. I understand that Barbados cannot give all of these, but surely, there must be some incentive for people to want to join.. You cannot have constables staring down vicious criminals and taking home less than $3000 a month after taxes. Where is the incentive to want to join if I can get that same amount without the added danger and stress to me and family? A society gets the type of service it pays for and policing is no different. Good pay and benefits would diminish the likelihood of corruption (hopefully) and tainted cops. Barbados cannot afford togo the route of Jamiaca, Trinidad and Guyana.. Be warned. Not getting recruits is the first stage.. Please review the salaries and benefits of the cops and you would have no problems with recruiting.. And one other thing, get away from the old boys network for promotions and let young officers see that they have an even chance of advancing based on performance.. Good luck
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