BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PRIME MINISTER and Minister of National Security Dr. the Hon. Denzil Douglas signalled his intention to personally investigate a number of allegations levelled at some members of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force by foreign-recruited officers.
In a letter addressed to SKNVibes, a group of foreign-recruited officers said that they would soon leave the force if their problems of unfulfilled promises and victimisation are not urgently addressed.
“For far too long now, we the foreign officers have been scorned and marginalised by the locals, even the very High Command. They worked us like literal slaves and do not give the slightest thought that we are fellow officers and human beings. They treat us as if we are robots, but any form of compensation or reward, we are left out of the loop. The High Command will send some of the locals amongst us just to spy and report back to them as if we are the criminals. They fail to realise that we are one and should be treated equally,” the letter reads.
It further states that “when they came to our islands to recruit us, they promised us heaven and earth but now we are here they have not lived up to their promises”.
The officers claimed that they were better off in their respective countries and “we are discussing amongst ourselves to get out of here. We really love St. Kitts and we are really interested in law enforcement, but we are discouraged because the actions of many of the local cops tell us that if we continue on the same trends…sooner, rather than later, some of us will get injured or killed”.
The letter also stated that the foreign-recruited officers are displeased over the recent blaming of one of their colleagues for putting the photos of the Shadwell murder victim on the internet. “But the question should be asked how would one of us get such photos? What happened here is a cloak of conspiracy against us just to shield the real culprits,” the letter states.
Prior to the letter, some members of the said group had visited SKNVibes and stated that recruiting teams had travelled to Dominica, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines in search of personnel to boost the force’s strength.
“A recruiting team went to our country where we wrote the entrance exams, and they told us that we would be paid a monthly salary of EC$2 100 during training. They also told us that on successful completion of the six-month training course we would be entitled to an additional EC$400. In addition to that, they told us that we would be housed in apartments after the training ended. However, to date, we are still housed in the barrack-rooms at the Basseterre and Charlestown Police Stations.
“These facilities are not even fit to accommodate animals; we are living like dogs! The beds are old, the mattresses are worn and grimy, the toilet bowls are discoloured and need to be replaced with new ones, roaches and rats infest our accommodation, and many of the windows are broken,” a spokesperson for the group said.
They also stated that complaints were made to their superiors and a meeting was held with those stationed on St. Kitts and one also with those on Nevis.
“Our superiors told us that they were trying to negotiate with the government for better accommodation and, in July, a second meeting would be held, where all foreign-recruited officers from both batches would be present,” they added.
It was revealed that some officers from Dominica had written to that island’s Commissioner of Police to be enlisted into the force.
“Some of us had sent applications back home to become members of our country’s police force. Our applications were favourably considered and they have requested a report on us from the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, but, to date, our superiors have been dragging their feet on it.”
They further stated that many of them are desirous of enlisting in the police force of the Turks and Caicos Islands or Anguilla, where they would be better treated and be in receipt of higher wages for their service.
SKNVibes spoke with Deputy Commissioner Stafford Liburd, who admitted to hearing and addressing complaints concerning accommodation and the officers’ intention of leaving the force. But he declared that he could not make any pronouncement on the alleged promises made to them by the recruiting team concerning salary.
“I am now learning from you about the alleged promises, but I do know that there are processes and they can always speak to us on issues. I know that there have been some issues…we have had dialogue with them and we will have more dialogue.
“We will be having dialogue with all of them…those at the Nevis Division and also those at Basseterre, because I believe that once officers of any rank, any nationality, who have concerns, as a senior officer, I have a duty to hear them, and we will hear them at the highest level shortly so that we can give appropriate guidance where necessary and have the issues clarified,” Liburd said.
He however pointed out that the movement of people is currently occurring at a more rapid pace than in the past. “Migration will always occur and young persons will continue to look at areas for their personal development. I will encourage them to continue to work well, as they have been doing, so that their positive contributions can be reflected in whatever recommendation is required for them. Life is all about choices and non-nationals will continue to be employed in police forces within the region, especially in small nation territories like St. Kitts and Nevis, Turks and Caicos, Anguilla, Antigua and Tortola.”
The Deputy Commissioner’s comments were made before receipt of the letter, and so also was the Force Personnel Officer, Wendell Wattley, who claimed that he was not on the recruiting team for the first batch.
He stated that the then Superintendent of Police, Ian Queeley, had headed the team for the first batch and he was on the second. Wattley said there must have been some misunderstanding by the foreign-recruited officers concerning salary, because a Recruit is paid $1 450 plus $228 as Risk Allowance.
“Upon successful completion of Recruit Training, the Recruit would then be promoted to the rank of Constable and will be in receipt of $1 870 and a Risk Allowance of $296. Not even a Corporal receives $2 500 per month. A Corporal is paid a monthly salary of $2 430 in addition to a Risk Allowance of $327. Therefore, it is highly improbable for a recruiting team to inform those men that they would have been receiving $2 500 on completion of their training,” Wattley said.
Wattley however claimed to have knowledge of the state of the accommodation but denied knowing of any promise concerning apartments. He said that the matter of accommodation is being addressed and very soon the officers would be better housed.
SKNVibes also spoke with Commissioner Austin Williams on the allegations made by the officers in the letter, and he said that it must have been written by “a malicious person who is trying to stir up disaffection within the force”.
And concerning the promises of higher salary, he said, “I have enquired from both Personnel Officers who would have travelled overseas to recruit and they denied making any promises. They told me that they had outlined the working conditions and the salary scale. What I believe is that persons might have understood that the top scale of a Constable is what it is, and I don’t think one can be placed at the top scale on recruitment. You have to serve a number of years before you can get there.”
The Commissioner explained that on recruitment, one is classified as a Special Constable and is paid accordingly. And on successful completion of the training one would be paid the difference between a Special Constable and a Constable.
“What I intend to do though,” he added, “is to recruit Constables since it is causing a controversy. There is nothing wrong in recruiting persons as Constables; if they fail the course and they want to remain, they can be demoted to Special Constables.”
In addressing the allegations of accommodation, Williams said, “I have seen an article concerning that on SKNVibes which was brought to my attention. The allegations are not factual…and from interviews and speaking with some of the officers, they denied having anything to do with that report.”
Williams however admitted to the fact that the officers are inconvenienced by having to share lockers. Two and three men are sharing one locker. He informed that it was caused by officers who are not residing in the barracks but utilise the convenience.
He claimed that the congestion would soon be rectified as plans are afoot for the removal of two units from the Basseterre barracks to another location.
Dr. Douglas, on the other hand was disturbed over the contents of the letter when it was shown to him. He has promised to personally investigate all allegations made by the foreign-recruited officers, and SKNVibes learnt that he had recently visited the Basseterre Police Station since making that statement.
In discussing the matter with him, Dr. Douglas reiterated that CARICOM nationals do have freedom of movement and once an individual has satisfied the necessary requirements for employment, he/she must be treated as would any national of the country of employ.
“With the recent upsurge in violence and gun-related crime, I do know that the force needs more resources, especially human resource, to combat the situation. Over the years, many of our young men have opted for other careers and some of the older officers have retired or near retirement age. Therefore, discussions were had with the High Command to seek recruits from within CARICOM member states.
“This we have done and another team will be leaving shortly for further recruitment. However, if it were a fact that the officers are being victimised, then I am glad that it was brought to my attention so that they can know that we care about their well-being. I therefore vow that I shall personally conduct an investigation into these allegations,” the PM said.
He also noted that it is incumbent upon him as the Minister of National Security to ensure that all is well within the police force, in particular, and the country as a whole.
Over the past two years, two recruit courses were conducted and among the graduates 21 were from Dominica, 15 from St. Kitts-Nevis, seven from Grenada and five from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, taking the number of officers in the force to an approximate 388.
However, in November 2008, after the graduation of that year’s batch of recruits, Commissioner Williams said while he was happy with the increase many more officers were needed to carry out the force’s mandate.
“Ideally, we would like to have about 500 police officers in the force, which would greatly assist in our crime-fighting efforts and the protection of the citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis,” Williams intimated.
