There are no good options for a new Police Commissioner of the RSLPF
By Caribbean News Global
CASTRIES, St Lucia – Following the conclusion of Commissioner of Police, Crusita Descartes-Pelius, contractual assignment, and departure as a decorated police officer with more than three decades of experience in law enforcement, who previously served as the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) responsible for corporate services and strategic operations; the appointment of Verne Garde, acting police commissioner, Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF), effective September 2, 2024, is seen by many as more of the same.
Why the acting appointment in the desperate need for solid law enforcement and national security infrastructure?
The Office of the Prime Minister, (OPM) in a press release, today, describes Garde as having “on-the-ground experience” … “several years of managing people and resources in the exercise of law enforcement” and other credentials in criminal justice, law enforcement and administration.
Furthermore, is it part of the acting apparatus, pending the availability of the preferred? Moreover, have the authorities not learned from previous lessons that circling the wagon can be extremely painful from the seen and unseen? Knowing is everything!
Using the proviso,” acting on the Public Service Commission’s advice,” the appointment of acting police commissioner Garde precedes serving as director of Bordelais Correctional Facility, and a former head of the Special Branch Unit of the RSLPF.
Without highlighting the inefficient justice system, the poor enforcement of law and order and an insubstantial security infrastructure, the catch-and-release approach to criminal justice is seemingly identifiable in short-term planning for national security and the RSLPF.
The appointment as acting police commissioner has substantiated various insights that “the RSLPF is unfixable, devoid of norms, and must be disbanded forthwith. And if the RSLPF represents law and order, then it is worthy of note the reputation of the police force, the connotations of IMPACS, and that the future of the police force is undeniable – it must be disbanded forthwith.”
The new appointment also validates a Caribbean News Global (CNG) article, among others – ‘St Lucia’s Gazetted police offices should be sent packing’ – as acting commissioner Garde, was previously, director of corrections at the Bordelais Correctional Facility, a national institution plagued with more operation, structural and administrative teething troubles.
There can be no change on the national security circuit that continues to absorb (56 homicides, bank robbery, lawlessness, lacklustre operations, a mindless brain trust and no dedicated revenue stream, notwithstanding the 2.5 percent health and security levy is an investment.
Moreover, the RSLPF has no stature of influence, and no relevance of gravitas in the national security domain to deter the criminal elements on the streets of Saint Lucia.
“Most of the criminal elements are home grown and hang out with the political class, parliamentarians, the business elites, and the governance of Saint Lucia,” noted a security expert.
The political directorate cannot help, devoid of political will to not hurt feelings and that of the electorate. Votes matter!
The politics of appointments and the workings of national security – are weak beyond the pale. The new acting commissioner of police – cannot make a difference to the national security profile of Saint Lucia, beyond the status quo.
Acting Commissioner Garde is said to bring “several years of experience in managing people and resources in the exercise of law enforcement” … “having played an essential role in executing some of the development plans for the Central Intelligence Unit of the Saint Lucia Police Force, a vital unit in crime fighting during his policing years, that the police under his leadership will have greater successes in the fight against crime.”
“Garde has been recognised by the Central Intelligence Unit of the United States for exemplary service with the award of distinguished service being conferred on him. The United Kingdom Customs and Excise Unit and the United States Embassy in Bridgetown both formally recognised his work with memoranda of appreciation,” OPM press release.
It is not visible that the appointment “signals a new chapter for the embattled police force.” The construct of the RSLPF – policy, operational, human development and leadership to bring much-needed stability and effective crime-fighting strategies, is a pie in the sky, and dead in the waters surrounding the island.
The grim situation of Saint Lucia’s national security is a management, operational and financial stockpile of continuous maladroitness – that continues to define the RSLPF – unfit for purpose! A colonial dinosaur of political repositories.
The national security apparatus of Saint Lucia is a lesson of gross incompetence that needs to be disbanded. The realism of the machination of actors in the governance of Saint Lucia and law and order must end.
Caribbean News Global (CNG) has repeatedly conveyed that the image and functionality of the RSLPF is tattered, complex and beyond repair.
Read more: RSLPF security challenges.
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