In an effort to tackle the incidence of sexual offences on this island, the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, recently concluded two weeks of training, consisting of 27 female members of various ranks in the constabulary.

The commencement ceremony took place on Friday December 1, 2017 at the Police training school, under the theme “Empowering Police Women in the Workplace”.

The ceremony proudly show-cased the commitment of the local Police Force in ensuring, that female police officers are equipped with the requisite skills needed, to perform efficiently in their various departments and stations.

The course sensitized each participant to the sensitive nature of sexual offences and also focused on topics which were designed to produce an acute awareness of the officer’s ability to investigate these crimes as well as to ensure the emotional wellbeing of the victim.

Topics presented included; points to prove sexual offences, statement taking, crime scene management, human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual intercourse with defectives, electronic interviewing of suspects, and victim care.

Assistant commissioner of Police (ACP) Frankie Joseph, in delivering his keynote address, emphasized the importance of the training and urged the graduants to always be open minded when dealing with victims of sexual offences.

He lamented that the officers should not be judgmental by blaming the victim but must rather entertain the report, investigate the matter thoroughly and gather the relevant evidence to successfully prosecute the offender(s).

The Assistant Commissioner also stressed on the importance of giving proper evidence in the courts.

He pointed to the fact that any police officer can conduct an excellent investigation and prepare the best case-file; but on the day in court, if you fail to introduce the evidence to convince the magistrate, the jury or the judge, the hard work that was previously put into investigating the report will be futile.

Also delivering remarks was course coordinator, Mr. Trevor Bailey Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), who expressed how pleased he was with the performance and work ethic of the Female officers. He also championed the success of the course, which produced 100 percent passes with averages ranging the 80s and high 90s.

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