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Police officers in the city of Castries have achieved a major breakthrough: they are already patrolling the city streets with body cameras provided by the Castries Constituency Committee (CCC) to enhance interaction with citizens.
Castries Mayor Geraldine Londo-Gabriel told THE VOICE City yesterday that police officers were recently equipped with body cameras “because of their special functions, which include one-on-one interactions with citizens, including ensuring that everyone abides by the established city laws, rules and regulations – whether they are citizens and visitors from Castries or any other part of Saint Lucia.”
She also noted that “sometimes very controversial situations arise – such as vendors occupying areas that they shouldn’t, or people continuing the bad habit of urinating in public.”
The mayor added that police “also have to struggle and interact with mentally disturbed individuals in the city….”
“It’s a difficult situation for our city police officers to handle at times, so we feel the need to protect not only the public but also the police officers who are doing their job,” Mayor Rendol-Gabriel explained.
She noted that “city police have also sometimes been accused of mismanaging people,” but added that “this is not always the case….”
“There are also situations where, because the police didn’t succeed, the victim may file some allegations and charges,” the mayor explained.
The mayor said, “Given the situation, we made the decision early in this council term to provide body cameras to police officers.”
Mayor Gabriel, who is also the CCC chairman, said there have also been growing calls for police safety gear, so “all city police officers have been trained in the use of firearms.”
In addition, she said, city police are also equipped with “reflective vests” to “ensure that they can better cope with the new challenges required by their tasks and functions in today’s new law enforcement environment.”
She said officers “have also received special training to deal with the increasing number of crimes committed by youth and children by better understanding the provisions of the relevant laws.”
The mayor continued: “We at the City Council believe this is a very important move, not only for the city, but for policing as a whole, because we know that the city police are part of the national law enforcement system, so its officers also need to be equipped with appropriate and sufficient equipment to do their job.”
Meanwhile, the new government minister in charge of policing is backing growing public calls for officers in the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) to be equipped with body cameras.
Mikudnos MP Jeremiah Norbert, former crime prevention minister and new interior minister, recently told reporters that providing local police officers with body cameras would help improve and increase public confidence in the local police force.
He said: “If you (police) are always on video,” then “you don’t have to worry about closing the door…
“So,” he added, “we will look at how to implement these types of measures.”
“Certainly,” the Minister concluded, “we will see that this move will lead to greater public confidence in the police….”
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