RSS TEAMWORK WITH LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT MADE EASIER BY PRE-EXISTING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, November 6, 2018 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police responsible for Operations, Mr. Adolph Adams said the strong level of teamwork and cooperation between local law enforcement officers and personnel of the Regional Security System (RSS) continues to lead to successes in police operations around St. Kitts and Nevis.

Speaking recently with the Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister, Acting ACP Adams said the reason officers here in St. Kitts and Nevis have gelled so well with their security counterparts from the RSS is as a result of St. Kitts and Nevis’ participation in law enforcement training programmes throughout the Caribbean.

“The Special Services Unit (SSU) that we have in St. Kitts and many other officers that we have in other out-stations have had RSS training, so a lot of [RSS] members who are here in the country now have actually trained with us and so it’s just like working with people you are already familiar with,” Acting ACP Adams said.

From January 15 – February 23, 2018, St. Kitts and Nevis was the host country for the RSS Training Institute’s Section Leaders Course number 1 of 2018. That training programme saw twenty-eight (28) law enforcement personnel from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and host country St. Kitts and Nevis undergo six weeks of training exercises geared towards shaping and nurturing future leaders.

Furthermore, the acting Assistant Commissioner of Police noted that many of the local officers and visiting forces trained together as recently as June of this year during Phase I of Exercise Tradewinds 2018, which ran from June 4-12 in St. Kitts and Nevis, and June 13-24 in the Bahamas.

“So based on the fact that a lot of us trained together, we maintained strong friendships where we communicated regularly,” Mr. Adams added.

The additional manpower being provided by the Regional Security System has allowed the law enforcement agencies here to intensify their operations in known hotspots in St. Kitts. This includes 24-hour law enforcement presence in a number of communities over a longer period of time.

For instance, there is now 24-hour presence by soldiers of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force (SKNDF) in the St. Johnston’s Village and McKnight areas, 24-hour police coverage in Newtown and Taylor’s Village, as well as increased police visibility in the New Road and Stapleton areas.

Photo: RSS members out on patrol with officers of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force.

Photo 2: Closing of RSS Section Leaders Course number 1 of 2018 held in St. Kitts and Nevis earlier this year.