On Monday, January 30, 2022, a meeting was held by officers within the Central Division of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF), where the subjects of student loitering, disorderly conducting and unlawful fighting were discussed.
All of the mentioned incidents have been occurring with increased frequency of late, and as such a determination was made to address these concerns with the relevant authorities.
It is unlawful to engage in all of the abovementioned activities, and they pose significant risk to not only the students, but the public at large. There are remedies available including the utilization of the juvenile court systems, where monitoring and rehabilitative measures may be implemented to redirect delinquent behavior.
A memo was prepared by the head of the Community Relations Branch (CRB) and sent to all principals of schools within the division articulating a like position.
This document has since been retracted, as the true intent of the meeting was not correctly expressed and may have caused more panic and outrage than conveying the severity of the problem law enforcement is encountering as a result of students’ non-adherence to law and order.
All schools are under the authority of the Ministry of Education and the RSLPF will endeavor to approach this matter with the relevant parties assigned to each District.
We wish to apologize for any undue concern this may have caused. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Ag), Ronald Phillip has since contacted officials within the Ministry of Education, including the Permanent Secretary, Michelle Charles and Deputy Chief Education Officer, Giannetti George, and offered apologies on behalf of the organization, for the manner with which the intent was conveyed.
Both organizations recognized that the concerns were of a serious nature, which posed challenges for both agencies and agreed to collaborate on preventative measures to address them.
The Commissioner of Police, Crusita Descartes-Pelius wishes to remind the public that citizen security is a major concern for the RSLPF and ensuring the safety of the youth is paramount. All measures to ensure their continued well-being will be initiated, as we continue to create a safer environment for all people in Saint Lucia.
SOURCE: Royal Saint Lucia Police Force
Whose ego got bruised? There was nothing wrong with the assessment and course of action that was deemed necessary by the RSLPF! It appears therefore that someone from the Ministry of Education felt that the RSLPF was showing up certain deficits in the school system — so somebody’s ego, which seems to exist under a very thin layer of skin, got severely bruised! Sadly, some of us don’t seem to know that genuine nation-building does not go through egos, but rather through truth and justice! The RSLPF has nothing (whether statements or positions to withdraw, or apologize for in this matter!
My thoughts exactly truth be told. There must have been an uproar among some parents I am assuming. These are the same parents who have not taken their parenting role seriously enough and not trained these children on how to correctly conduct themselves in public. We’ve got to start somewhere folks. We know there is a serious problem but some are getting overly sensitive when the problem is starting to be addressed. The problem only gets much bigger when it is not addressed.
In total agreement with the “content” of the memo it was spot on.
However the contruction of the memo, awa masay, they were some injustices to the written language.
Keep up the good work RSLPF.
What was there to retract? Who is responsible for law and order on the streets of St. Lucia? What is the police supposed to do when student/s get “out of hand” in public – call the Ministry? Mwen-meme … pappy-show …choops-tan
My take on the matter is look at the age group that’s creating theses type of crime and criminal behavior in this country, and this should enlighten u, the youngest child at the BCF is only 14 years old. we need to restore law and order in this country and stop creating a lawlessness sosity e in this country where anything goes the country is not govern by law enforcement but taking orders from another country to govern our own country when we should be upholding our own laws, the tactics that is been used is too divide and rule the amount of crime that is taking place and very little is been done should give you a clear indication of what’s going on
The only thing is such a memo should not even have been sent but a memo from the Commissioner to the PS of Education reminding them of the Law which those kids can be seen breaking. Also, a PR from the Police through Chiquot reminding/ informing the general public of the relevant sections of the law. It’s time the Police Acton all levels of ill-discipline and law breaking in our society. It’s just that they never seem to get the support from the PM down to sections of the general public.
RSLPF retracted the memo because of the ineptitude and extremely poooooor writing skills of the author – an Inspector of police at that. If one were to read a copy of the document in circulation then one would truly understand my position. Whilst reading this memo I thought – no wonder the public thinks so lowly of the RSLPF, for if the writing ability of a head of department is so poor, I can’t help but imagine what it is like in the lower ranks. Incompetence at it best!
Are not memos for internal communication? If so why then was a memo the medium used for communicating to the principals who are in no way the staff of the RSLPF.
Who gave that Inspector the power to bypass the head of the Ministry of Education and communicate directly to the principals who in no way fall under the direction or command of the RSLPF?
The is an approved way of doing business in bureaucratic organizations and communicating directly to the staff of the education department clearly did not meet that standard.
Lord help that organization!!!!
Absolutely nothing wrong with the content or substance of the memo.
However the memo was extremely poorly constructed, grammar all over the place.
The was some serious injustices done to the written English language in the memo.
Kudos the the RSLPF as of late, not sure if the new Commissioner is behind the recent successes but I welcome them regardless.
P.S. you can’t “retract” something which is already in the public domain.