Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 07, 2017 (SKNIS): Seventy-nine recruits working to join the security forces have been screened using polygraph technology as part of efforts to ensure that applicants possess high levels of integrity, honesty, confidentiality and other values needed to serve and protect in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Inspector of Police, Eldrin Dickenson, said that 45 of the recruits are from the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF), while the remaining 34 are recruits of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force.
Inspector Dickenson is leading this initiative, having being the most senior of four police officers trained in Psychophysiological Detection of Deception during a workshop in December 2014 in Barbados. He also completed the Regional Security System Training Institute’s (RSS-TI) Advanced Polygraph Examiner Course in Antigua earlier this year.
“It’s going great,” he said, when asked about the current screening programme. He added that reports with the results are currently being compiled to present to each agency head. That is expected to be sometime next week. Twenty-three of the newest members of Her Majesty’s Prison will also be tested.
Superintendent of Prisons, Junie Hodge, said that he approached the police to conduct the screening for prison officers. Although the process will start with the newest members, Mr. Hodge noted that all prison officers will eventually receive polygraph testing.
“We are human beings and we are not perfect,” Mr. Hodge said, referring to a recent case where a senior prison officer was arrested and charged for smuggling contraband into the facility. He stated that polygraph testing and the installation of a full body scan system will help considerably in reducing any illicit actions.
“The body scan machine is expected in short order,” Superintendent Hodge noted, adding that anyone coming into the prison, himself included, will be subject to a full scan before entering.
At the recent monthly Prime Minister’s Press Conference, it was revealed that senior members of the police force are in the process of being screened through polygraph testing.
