This admission was made here recently as the police in District B, hosted the first in a series of Town Hall meetings.
Henderson, who was the featured speaker of the evening, also spoke ‘from the heart’ in saying he believed that one of the biggest impacts on the relationship between the police and the community is the issue of unprofessionalism.
Inspector Henderson told those in attendance that “(the) Police must understand it is their responsibility to carry out the mission of the police force. If the police are brave and courageous to do their jobs fairly, the public will have more confidence in them.”The town hall meetings are therefore partly designed to restore public confidence and are an effort to strengthen the relationship between the police and the community.
The first of those meeting was held in the Tabernacle district on Thursday night (19th January) where senior officers from the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis police force came together with residents of the area at Edgar T. Morris Primary School and engaged in passionate discussion about working together to curb criminal activity.
District ‘B’ Divisional Commander Inspector Zanhestel Hector in his brief overview said, “These meetings are important to show people in the community who the police are and to encourage dialogue between the police and the people of the Tabernacle area.”
Officer with responsibility for the Tabernacle Police Station, Sergeant Oral Liburd, while giving a summary of crimes reported over the past year in that district, spanning Bellevue to Lodge Villages, said the major reports investigated were drug offences, burglary and wounding.
Liburd also encouraged residents to exercise vigilance in ensuring personal and property safety, including vehicles, as police realized an increase in larceny of smaller items such as mobile phones and other small electronics.
On the concept of community policing, Henderson explained that other regions who have borrowed strictly from the United States model have failed because they did not tailor their efforts to fit the local culture.
“There is a need for the police to go beyond the traditional boundaries of community policing to connect with the community” said Henderson. “Available modern technology must be utilized to strengthen police-community relationship.”
In closing, the Inspector offered l crime prevention tips to all present.