COP encourages locals to join Police Force
By Terresa McCall
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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Commissioner of Police Austin Williams
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Head of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, Commissioner (COP) Austin Williams, has issued an appeal to young men of the Federation to give serious consideration of becoming law enforcement officers.
Over the past several years, the police force has expressed that it has experienced difficulty in getting persons from the Federation to join the organisation and had to resort to regional support in this regard.
COP Williams, while speaking exclusively with this media house, provided a possible explanation for the apparent unwillingness of locals to join the police force.
He said the creation of other employment opportunities has given locals an alternative to joining the law-enforcement agency; opportunities which he said persons are capitalising on.
“The main thing is there are other job opportunities and when a fellow leaves school, most of the time he goes straight into a job. The police are always recruiting and people have to go through the processes which take some time. However, some people drop out by the way during that period. ~~Adz:Right~~
“Employment is one of the major factors why people join the force, and since Four Seasons opened in Nevis we may have had one or two officers joining within that period from Nevis and I can remember before time, most of the recruits came from Nevis than the others from St. Kitts. [With the] Marriott and other developments [on the scene], employment is there already and people have choices, so they choose other employment over police.”
The plea put forward by the COP is for the males of the Federation to join the police force and capitalise on the opportunities that go with it.
“I appeal to the young men of the Federation to join the local police force. The force provides you with great potential for great things for yourself, the organisation and your country. We are recruiting now. Please join. This is your chance to make a difference,” the COP implored.
He said however, applications are not being accepted from females as more than one quarter of the force’s population is comprised of women, which is over the required quota.
