by CARLOS ATWELL

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE DARWIN DOTTIN is taking steps to improve the working conditions of police officers.

He said this was necessary as the "ability to deliver high-quality service to all Barbados can be undermined by the circumstances under which police officers are called upon to perform".

Delivering the feature address yesterday at the annual Royal Barbados Police Force awards ceremony 2007, Dottin outlined some of the initiatives he was seeking to pilot.

These include: a new compensation package; a new pay arrangement for members of the CID (Criminal Investigation Department); the establishment of a medical programme; priority payment for officers who perform on the "front line" of policing; a lowering of the age of retirement to 55 years; tuition reimbursement for qualified police officers who have undertaken tertiary level education at their own expense; and the introduction of a competency related threshold scheme as a replacement for the qualifying bar for police constables.

The final example is designed to provide a mechanism for adequately compensating officers, particularly constables, who meet advancement requirements but cannot be promoted due to the fact that the force, by law, can only have a set number of people in a particular post at any one time.

"I strongly believe that there should be urgent discussion on these factors with the view of reversing their negative
impact on critical issues such as recruitment and retention. To further delay this discussion would only serve to weaken the force and dilute its quality of service.

"I have already taken steps to initiate these discussions with the submission to the Honourable Attorney-General and Minister
of Home Affairs. Indeed, working hand in hand with the Police Association we have been able to develop an exciting package that speaks to some of the more critical HR [human resource] issues," he said.

The evening featured many awards ranging from bravery and commitment to duty to empathy and professionalism.

David Lewis took the Station Sergeant Of The Year award while Ronald Cummins and Leslie Arthur received the Sergeant Of The Year and Constable Of The Year awards respectively. (CA)