Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 19th, 2015 (RSCNPF)- Prime Minister of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis and Minister of National Security, Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris, acknowledged the work being done by the Bramshill Policing Advisers (BPA)within the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF) and other members of the law enforcement community, both locally and regionally.
“The Bramshill Policing Advisers have been involved in a wide range of activities designed to enhance the capabilities of the police with respect to detection, conducting investigations and solving crimes…. The police have demonstrated the efficacy of the “Six Point Plan” and these recent events have demonstrated their ability to work in unity with the other members of the law enforcement community, the Defence Force, the Coastguard, Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise Department and the Prison Service. As we speak, there are Customs Officers being trained alongside their police colleagues in a Serious Crimes Investigation Course and in order to improve cooperation between us and our neighbours, we are pleased to announce that three (3) police officers from Antigua and Barbuda are also part of this training.”
The Prime Minister made these statements during his speech titled ‘Safety and Security Initiative in St. Kitts’ while addressing the nation in the House of Parliament on Tuesday 17th November 2015.
The Prime Minister informed the house that over the last five months, the Federal Government contracted the services of the BPA who are based in the United Kingdom. He disclosed that the company is led by two former senior British Police Officers, in the persons of Mr. Steve France-Sargeant and Mr. Dave King, “both with extensive backgrounds in operational policing and training, both in the UK and internationally, one of whom has extensive experience in homicide investigation in the region. They have been deploying other UK based trainers and mentors amongst members of our police force in both St. Kitts and Nevis, particularly focusing on homicide investigations and introducing modern systems and process.”
He added, “As has been stated repeatedly by the Bramshill Policing Advisers, the problems we face have not manifested themselves overnight and nor can the police be expected to stop them overnight. This is not a matter for the police alone and this is why we have introduced the Criminal Justice Strategic Board (CJSB) which was launched last week Wednesday, 11th November. The Bramshill Policing Advisers have been very instrumental in providing documentation and advice to guide the work of the CJSB as an inter-agency network that will work together with the same common objective to improve the criminal justice system.”
To date, the BPA have delivered training in: Homicide and serious Crime training and mentoring (23 police officers), Generic serious Crime Investigation Course (20 Cross-agency officers), Investigative Interviewing Course (20 cross-agency officers), Reinforcement of pocketbook policy in Violent Crimes Unit (VCU), Introduction of Operational Orders in VCU, Introduction of alibi destruction and Introduction of ‘leaflet drops’ alongside house to house. Other training has included Mentoring in workplace for the VCU in both St Kitts and Nevis.
The Bramshill team has also assisted in the reviews of 20 unsolved cases – one is currently with a forensic laboratory for analysis.
“Training will continue in 2016”, noted the Prime Minister. He furthered by saying “The Bramshill Policing Advisers have contributed significantly to the development of a Three (3) Year Policing Strategy including performance accountability throughout the organization. The Police Strategic Plan (2015-2018) and Improved Service Delivery Plan will be distributed by the end of this month. The BPA have also provided guidance with: Annual Policing Plan, Force Restructure including policy ownership, Police Training School Curriculum Development and the development of a weekly management accountability reporting template.
In the coming months, the BPA will be extensively involved in the implementation of: A revised promotion system in the Police Force, Appraisal system, Skills profile audit, Staffing census and audit and a Media and Communication Strategy. BPA will continue to train officers in further specialist crime skills, effective use of information and intelligence, managing serious crime, further investigative interviewing, supervisory skills and strategic leadership.
Additionally, a further project is on-going to enhance the Police K9 Unit by the acquisition of 6 new dogs and training for the K9 departments of both the Police and Her Majesty’s Customs.”
Prime Minister Harris ended by saying, “Apart from the provision of consultancy support for the Police, Government has invested heavily in providing additional resources for the Police in the fight against crime, by providing state-of –the-art forensic equipment, including a ballistic comparison microscope for the Forensics Department.”