At a meeting held at the NEMA Building, Lime Kiln, Basseterre in March 2015 with members of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF), Prime Minister and Minister of Homeland Security Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris told the officers that community policing is absolutely necessary in the fight against crime.
“We need community policing, it is imperative! Yes, an integral part of good governance and a landmark decision of the way forward.”
Indeed, this concept used by the honorable gentleman has made police leaders in Europe, Asia, North America and, yes, the Caribbean to reposition their police organizations to more effectively meet the complex policing challenges of the 21st century.
So, what is this concept...what is Community Poling?
According to Professor Ramesh Deosaran, a notable criminologist, “Community Policing is a philosophy geared towards having the police and community working together to help solve mutually defined problems through a deliberate effort aimed at reducing crime, violence, fear, insecurity and community decay.”
But for me, it is a model of service delivered by the police that enshrines the basic tenets of partnerships, consultation, problem solving and client-centered service resulting in the reduction and eradication of criminal activities.
Clearly, it has become the choice of progressive police leaders today.
So, when the Hon. PM Dr. Harris announced the concept of Community Policing, I believe that it was against the backdrop of the rising crime and the growing fear of gun crime in our beloved Federation with the awareness that, maybe, the Police Force had become disconnected from the people.
However, as a learning police force, the RSCNPF, I believe, respects the principle of sharing experience, and one of the most important lessons that we learnt over a decade of change is that many of the principles inherent in the model Community Policing are not new and was used by former police officers such as COP Fahie, Insp. Hanley, W/Sgt. Williams and Sgt. Bartlett, just to name a few.
The fact is, these principles have been consistently and routinely practiced for many years and, in a sense, this philosophy is in fact "old wine in a new bottle".
But what is substantially different today, however, is that Community Policing has become a highly sophisticated operating philosophy and it cannot and will not work under a regime of traditional hierarchical police force.
Successful implementation and integration, or lack thereof, is absolutely predicted on a willingness and commitment by police leaders to basically change their organizational structure and operational strategies in ways that will positively influence the culture of the workforce to deliver this policing style.
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