Basseterre, St. Kitts, Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016 – The national community hailed the announcement of the recently appointed High Command Team in the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force.
Commenting on the very positive feedback, Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris told the media last week that, “That support is vindication of both the process of selection and the outcome.” Prime Minister Harris added: “The team emerged from a transparent process of screening, interviewing and evaluating by a panel including input from external policing experts.”
When the Prime Minister announced the composition of the Police High Command Team during a live broadcast on the night of February 9th, he provided insight into the selection process.
The Prime Minister disclosed that, “Recommendations were forwarded for the independent consideration and determination of the Police Service Commission. During the process to select these officers, all eligible Gazetted officers were offered interviews and asked to share their vision for the future of policing in the Federation and how they can add value to the implementation of the 4-Year Strategic Plan (2016-2019). The vision of all senior officers interviewed was a collective one: ‘To reduce crime and to make our communities safer.’ They were asked: ‘How do you intend to achieve this?’”
Indeed, such interview questions that engage candidates in problem solving are par for the course as pointed out in Police Chief Magazine by Brian Fitch, Ph.D. of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. The magazine is the official publication of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
In April 2010, Fitch wrote: “Interviewers should adopt a standard set of situational questions that, again, focus on the specific characteristics of the job by asking applicants to address potential tactical, administrative, or technical issues that they are likely to encounter. Realistic, situational questions provide the evaluator with a way of objectively assessing a candidate’s pertinent job knowledge, problem-solving skills, and ability to make decisions under pressure – all important criteria for selecting the best candidate and for making the process more objective for everyone.” Fitch also wrote that relevant experience and expertise are important considerations in the job selection process.
At his press conference last week, Prime Minister Harris contended that there is no perfect job candidate selection process. However, he expressed assurance that the police force now has “arguably one of the most experienced and cohesive Command Teams.”
Police Commissioner Mr. Ian Queeley, Deputy Police Commissioner Mr. Hilroy Brandy, and Assistant Police Commissioners Ms. Merclyn Hughes, Mr. Terrance James and Mr. Andre Mitchell hold 156 years of collective experience in policing. Also, all of them have benefited from extensive local, regional and international training throughout their law enforcement careers.
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