Minister Lauds RSLPF, Urges Public Support For Police Officers – St. Lucia Times News

Black Immigrant Daily News

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On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister Alva Baptiste paid glowing tribute to members of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) while urging the public to support police officers.

“I am here to salute the police for playing their part in ensuring that our society does not degenerate into a place that we cannot recognise,” Baptiste told officers during the Police Commissioner’s Parade, the first in four years.

And Baptiste declared that those who want to understand the usefulness of his statement should try a society like Saint Lucia’s without the RSLPF.

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The remark drew applause from his audience.

“Police officers are human beings just like us,” he observed, adding that members of the RSLPF have wives, husbands, children, and feelings like everyone else.

“When we select police officers we select them from amongst ourselves – the general society and so the police force is a microcosm of the society, just like the parliament, just like the teaching service and other departments within our own society,” the Laborie MP explained.

In this regard, Baptiste said the RSLPF is merely one aspect of the architecture of dealing with criminal activities in this country and responding to societal challenges.

But he noted that this gobalised world does not make it easier for police officers to discharge their responsibilities.

“People have more sophisticated weapons. They have cell phones that you could use as a tool, but it can also be used as a weapon just like a kitchen knife,” Baptiste observed.

As a result, he pointed out that the aspect of the RSLPF’s mandate to protect and serve is under much stress.

Nevertheless, the Minister said despite the constraints, he sees the RSLPF maintaining a high level of humanity and exhibiting respect for life and liberty.

“I see integrity in the police force guided by the principles of justice and I see courage that despite all the criticism, they maintain mental and moral strength. They stand by their fellow officers in the face of danger,” Baptiste told his audience.

“When we do see deficiencies in the police force, we must reflect on our own deficiencies because I said a few moments ago, they are human just like us,” the Minister asserted.

And Baptiste said it was incumbent on citizens to support the work of the RSLPF.

Headline photo: Alva Baptiste (Stock image)

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