Leewards Times supports Commissioner Walwyn’s call for young locals to join police force

Commissioner of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, Mr. C. G. Walwyn

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, MARCH 13TH2012 (CUOPM) – A local newspaper is throwing its full support behind Commissioner of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force Mr. C. G. Walwyn for young nationals of the twin-island federation to join the force.

“The SKN Leewards Times commend and support the Commissioner of Police for this thoughtful appeal and hopes that the young men and women of both St. Kitts and Nevis will respond to this job appeal and see it as an opportunity to serve their country and contribute to nation building,” the paper said in its weekend editorial.

The paper editorialized: “The Commissioner of Police Mr. C. G. Walwyn has recently issued an appeal for young persons on Nevis and especially the men to join the police force.

The Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force seeks the best and brightest individuals who want to make a change in their lives and a difference in their communities. The appeal comes from a police force that has long set the standard of excellence for police training and performance.

According to Commissioner Walwyn, “People are saying that young men don’t want to be cops in the Federation but that’s not true, that is not true. “Young men are looking for a chance like anybody else and we are extending our arm to them if they are interested their community.”

We are of the view that there is no other job that can offer our young people at once, the opportunity for growth, enrichment, and range of experience like a policing job. While many might note that the salary is not as encouraging as other private sector jobs we submit that there are more rewards to be derived from policing than salaries.

This appeal gives our young men and women a chance to show dedication, zeal and interest to serve their country voluntarily. Our young people can help contribute and change the course of our country’s safety and security measures. With new and fresh ideas which we believe our people possess we are bound for greater heights.

Nevisians and Kittitians we are at times quick to judge our police men and women when we feel an incident was not dealt with as we would have liked. This therefore is an opportunity for us to encourage our young men and women and some of our middle aged to consider joining the force to lend their expertise and intelligence to the police force to help create a safe and conducive environment for us all.

The fact that 70 percent of the members of our police force are foreigners because of the lack of willing local man power resulted in somewhat of an estrangement between the police and the public. While we are grateful for outside help we strongly suggest that there are men and women in our Federation who can and need to give of themselves to their country.

Law enforcement must maintain a professional workforce able to keep pace with the pressures placed on every police agency. Furthermore, recruiting a diverse and capable work force improves society’s perception of law enforcement. However, the most important facet of law enforcement is the officers themselves.

The private sector job competition has to however be considered. The SKN Leewards Times is of the view that in order to make this job appeal more attractive to our young people our government need to offer more incentives. Training for officers should include wider vocational skills training; scholarships for young officers should become commonplace; awards and monetary stipends for officers who go above and beyond the call of duty; inclusion of police officers in the home ownership program; offering mentorship programme for support are some of the incentives that may be considered and extended.”