Basseterre, St. Kitts, August 04, 2016 (SKNIS): Captain Kayode Sutton, Public Affairs Officer in the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force (SKNDF), said that the institution will continue to work in tandem with the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF), as they seek to reduce antisocial behaviour in the Federation.
Captain Sutton reflected on the mission statement of the SKNDF while appearing on the Government’s weekly radio and television programme “Working for You” on Wednesday, August 03. He said that through this, the Defence Force is mandated by law to support the RSCNPF.
“We are not the frontline. If the Police Force says they need help we support them, we help them, said Captain Sutton, while stressing that the Police Force is not the Defence Force. “Generally, we don’t arrest people, we work with the Police, and we detain people and hand them over to the police.”
He noted that the aim of the Defence Force is really to provide security to the Police Force. He noted that in most cases the police will specify what they want done because soldiers are not trained police officers to deal with things such as evidences and documentation.
“So what we normally do is provide the police security while they do their policing. We tell them we got your back, you are safe, do your duties,” he said. “And if they need a hand to hold someone, to transfer someone, to suppress someone who is not cooperating with the Police Force, then soldiers are strong [so] they will step in to help them and then go back to their regular duties.”
Captain Sutton said the soldiers go through training on a regular basis to deal with the challenges of the job.
“As soldiers, we have rules of engagement and every soldier is trained on a weekly basis,” he said, while adding that if training does not occur weekly then it is done every other week or every other two weeks. “But every soldier has a copy of the rules of engagement. They know exactly when to use their weapon and how to use it. So a soldier is not just going to go into town and just open fire. No, we don’t train lunatics.”
The mission statement of the SKNDF is to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of St. Kitts and Nevis to include aid to the civil authority, fisheries, protection, drug interdiction and human relief and operations, and to promote regional peace.
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