BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – RETIRED Commissioner of Police (COP) Austin Williams has thrown his full support behind the Police Force’s initiatives of soliciting assistance from officers who have retired or resigned from the organisation in the fulfillment of its Six-Point Plan.
A few weeks ago, the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force announced that it would be reaching out to these officers with the hope that they would provide expertise and share their experiences with junior members of the organisation in an effort to bolster the fight against crime.
Resultantly, a meeting for the former officers was held last week Wednesday (Aug. 12) at the Police Training Complex which saw about 60 of them in attendance, according to Assistant Commissioner Ian Queeley.
Retired COP Williams was one of the attendees and, in an interview with SKNVibes, he indicated that he is in full support, is more than willing to lend his expertise and made no bones about making that indication at the meeting.
“I am quite willing all the time to share whatever knowledge I have to the police and do whatever I can.”
Williams said he made a number of suggestions at the meeting which, if taken onboard, would result in considerable improvement in the function of the organisation.
The first, he pointed out, is that the Police Force should increase the manpower so that it could operate at optimum strength.
Following that numerical boost, Williams said it is imperative for citizens and residents to see an increase in both foot and vehicle patrols in all communities, especially those deemed as hotspots.
His third suggestion concerns the Traffic Department.
“There needs to be an independent Traffic Department. The vehicle population has grown considerably over the past number of years. When I last checked it was about 2.5 individuals to one vehicle. By now it is probably two-to-one. The roads need to be properly policed and there needs to be a more active and independent Traffic Department to make that possible.”
Williams insinuated that he is looking forward to the collaborative effort between himself and the organisation that he previously served.
Meanwhile, this publication has learnt that because of the success attained at the meeting and the absence of a number of former officers who reside on Nevis, the Police High Command would be travelling to that island sometime during this week to conduct a similar exercise.
