Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 18, 2022 (RSCNPF): Officers from another Police Station recently wrapped up their initiative that catered to the senior citizens in their district. This time, it was the Officers from the Tabernacle Police Station.
They gathered resources to create fifteen (15) gift baskets and delivered them to the most vulnerable senior citizens in the areas they serve. Assisting them with this initiative for the past few years has been Community Development Officer, Chaddi Garnette. Mr. Garnette is instrumental to the exercise as he helps them identify the persons in need of the baskets the most and coordinates the deliveries with the Officers.
“I am a Community Development Officer and I would’ve worked with the police to get some of the mandates that were issued to me from above, from my department. The Department of Community Development works with government institutions to provide some level of community awareness, community activities, etc.,” Mr. Garnette explained. “So, I do applaud them for what they have done and their continued success so far.”
He went on to add that such efforts helped to improve the visibility of the Officers of that station and it also built community relations.
The Community Development Officer also said that they would have looked at the most vulnerable older persons in the district, then focus on the more senior citizens. “So, the top criteria were the vulnerability and then it would have been the more senior persons within the area or in the zone,” he said.
Sergeant Simeon Liburd who heads the Tabernacle Police Station is pleased that the men and women at the Station willingly participate in the exercise annually. He noted that it was an important part of their overall community policing initiative.
“The management and staff of the Tabernacle Police Station, in keeping with the mandate of the Police High Command which is geared towards community policing, took the initiative from 2016 to the present to make the elders of our Policing District a part of our priority,” stated Sergeant Liburd.
“Apart from checking in on them during our tour of duty or assisting in any other way that we can, every year during the celebration of the Month of Older Persons which is held in October we, the staff, along with the cooperative community, our parliamentary representative, farmers and the Community Development Officer, Mr. Chaddie Garnette, combine our efforts to seek out the most vulnerable persons and present them with a gift basket as part of our appreciation of their contribution to society. To this end we wish to promote community policing and strive to build a stronger alliance between the police and the general public.”