PSYCHOLOGICAL AND COUNSELING SERVICES BOOSTING MORALE WITHIN THE POLICE FORCE

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, August 21, 2019 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The psychological services that are now being offered to officers of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force are already resulting in improved attitudes and morale of law enforcement personnel.

Psychologist Dr. Cherese Godwin has been employed within the Ministry of National Security since 2018 where she has been working with all national security officers to prepare them mentally, physically and emotionally prior to critical incidents.

Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, said recently that the appointment of Dr. Godwin forms part of the Government’s overall aim of creating a more conducive working environment for law enforcement officers.

“Whatever we can do to continue to ensure that your work here is made light where necessary, we will continue to be available to serve you. That is one of the reasons why for the first time in the history of the Force, we brought on board a psychologist in the person of Dr. Cherese Godwin so that she can provide ongoing counseling support to you as you go about a challenging exercise,” the prime minister said.

Speaking at a press conference hosted by the police force on Tuesday, August 13, Dr. Godwin said the results of her work with the men and women of the police force can already be felt throughout the force.

“Last year we had over a thousand sessions and those sessions have been positive and I have a lot of individuals coming to me and telling me that things are better,” Dr. Godwin said.

She noted that officers also have the option of reaching out to her via social media as another mean to ensure that these officers “are getting the services that they need in order to move forward in a positive direction.”

Prime Minister Harris further encouraged the law enforcement officers, particularly those who were last week officially inducted as officers of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, to utilize “as often as possible” the psychological services now available to them.

Dr. Godwin has more than 10 years of experience in the field of psychology and has also done consulting work for the Ministry of Gender Affairs, assisting in the development and evaluation of programmes geared towards gender sensitization and ending violence against women.