BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE Police Force is mandated to “serve, protect, and uphold the rule of law”, but does the same code of conduct applies to the traffic regulations when it comes to officers parking ‘willy, nilly’?
Over the last several years, the media have repeatedly scolded the police for breaking the same law for which they have repeatedly ticketed persons, ironically occurring in proximity of the office of the Police Commissioner, who is the Chief Licencing Officer.
The offence in question is the parking of police vehicles and government vehicles with government licence plates parking on yellow lines on Lozack Road, which is just outside the office of the Commissioner of Police.
It is not clear at this point whether any officers were ticketed for clearly breaking the law in front of the Headquarters.
In responding to SKNVibes News on this issue, Commissioner of Police James Sutton indicated that road safety is one of his hallmarks, emphasizing the fact that “police officers are not above the law”.
With that being said, he reminded that “persons believe that customs become the norm”, and he would approach the matter by speaking with his officers about parking on the yellow lines outside the Warner Park Cricket Stadium.
“Because, if we are to lead we must lead by example. It has been a perennial problem for quite some time,” said Sutton.
But Lozack Road is only one area where officers have been found to be deliberately flouting the traffic law.
Acknowledging that he is still building himself into the office of the Commissioner of Police, Sutton noted that it is no excuse as the public expects great things from the Police Force.
In the meantime, the Chief Licencing Officer will continue to provide offices of the Traffic Department with the necessary equipment, such as radar guns to prevent speeding on the roadways which continue to cause a number of accidents.
In addition, he suggested that educational programmes are needed to better equip drivers with the knowledged needed on the roadways.
He reminded that the problem is not enforcement of the law, but rather those persons who must understand that they cannot be late and expect to arrive on time at their intended destination.
