Police officers dissatisfied with living conditions

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MEMBERS of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force who reside at the Basseterre barracks have voiced their disgust and dissatisfaction with the conditions under which they live.

Speaking with SKNVibes on Friday (May 29) under the condition of anonymity, a group of police officers said they are challenged as to what additional steps need to be taken concerning their comfort and health as well as the safety of their personal belongings while living at the Basseterre Police Barracks.

They claimed that in addition to offices, holding cell and storerooms, the building houses four barrack-rooms, three of which are for male officers.

“The barrack-room in which I live accommodates approximately 17 officers and the conditions are deplorable. The beds have not been purchased from stores; they were built either by carpenters or inexperienced joiners. These beds are comprised of four posts joined together by pieces of wood and a piece of ply upon which the mattress rests,” one officer said.

He noted that tiles in the two bathrooms are “falling off” and the entire structures need to be repaired. He also stated that the colour of the toilet bowls have moultered into off-yellow and the washing of clothes is done by hand, because the sole machine in the accommodation has to be kicked at intervals in order for the system to work.

“Rats and roaches infest our accommodation…they share it with us. When we are going out either on duty or leisure, these pests march into our accommodation in a uniformed manner as if they were trained police officers or soldiers,” another officer said.
He also said that many officers suffer constant losses of personal items because the accommodation is insecured. 

“The Force has many officers from other islands in the region, and the majority is from Dominica. I can remember when one of my Dominican colleagues received two pairs of sneakers from his mother. He left them in the barrack-room and went on duty, only to return and find the owner or owners had removed them without his consent. Today, he is still without them and the culprit remains unknown,” he added.

Relating his barrack-room experience, another officer said that whenever they use the toilet facility, officers have to be dodging droplets of water from the female bathroom. He also stated that as recent as Friday (May 29), a very good friend of his also suffered losses. 

“While some of us were on duty, many others had left the barrack-room for various reasons. On our return, I found my friend near to tears as his two pillows, sheet and sleeping bag were totally destroyed…somebody cut them up,” he said.

He explained that that particular officer is the only one in the barrack-room who had purchased his own bed.

The officers claimed that on many occasions they were overworked because of providing security at political meeting at nights, “many of which conclude after mid-night”, and they had to perform their regular duty from 7:00 a.m. the following day.

The officers further claimed that they were promised stipends for their participation in the burning of illegal drugs and stills, “but, to date, we have not received one cent. In spite of the living and working conditions, we still remain in the Force because jobs are hard to come by. However, things will get worse because most, if not all, of the foreign officers want to move on”.

The officers said that they had lodged many complaints to their superiors concerning their plight but they all seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. 

“All the High Command is concerned with is repairing holding cells and other parts of the station and neglecting us. We are therefore requesting that your media house highlight our plight so that not only will our superiors rectify the situation, but also the business community can extend their generosity in making us comfortable in order to better serve and protect the nation,” they pleaded.