‘RVIPF not the place to get rich’ - Dept CoP Alwin James to new recruits
‘If you came here to be rich, you have come to the wrong place,’ he told the eight males and seven females along with one Auxiliary Officer who will now make up the fourth cohort for on-island recruit training being coordinated by the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF).
Ahead of the ceremony, training had officially commenced on Friday, August 16, 2019, where the Deputy Commissioner further warned the recruits of their responsibility to protect the vulnerable and maintain integrity in the job.
Valuable investment
“There will be persons in the community who will befriend them for the wrong reasons. Some will be expecting a favour because they may have helped them before, and they should be very careful of that,” the Deputy further told the recruits.
Commissioner of Police, Michael B. Matthews, in welcoming the recruits, informed that the training is one that is intensive and an investment by the RVIPF.
“To train you from scratch means long periods of time in classrooms in practical sessions, theoretical sessions, and using experienced officers that were taken off of the frontline to train you.” he stated.
CoP Matthews further stressed the importance of the training and the opportunity that they are given to be able to earn new skills in becoming a Police Officer. He also informed them of his goal to increase the number of Officers in the force which would, in turn, increase the visibility in the community.
More Recruitment
According to the Top CoP in an invited comment to Virgin Islands News Online (VINO), due to the Government’s mandate to increase the size of the force by 15 officers a year for three years, “We hope to bring on the last 15 in early 2020 bringing our regular strength up to 275.”
He said in terms of recruitment, the force has been focusing on recruiting VIslanders, which according to him, will help “to better reflect the local community with around a 40% take-up overall from the recruitment since we started our campaign in 2017.”
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6 Responses to “‘RVIPF not the place to get rich’ - Dept CoP Alwin James to new recruits”
I wonder if the Commissioner of Police can’t see... the RVIPF biggest problem, that’s why people don’t trust the police and have no confidence in them. One man destroying a whole organization.
Shave your head, join the gang & sell out your brethren to the highest bidder.
This is why the community don't have better relations with police. unfortunately often times police display sociopathic & predatory behavior. Repeat that again.
Several times over the years I have been stopped and questioned by police while minding my own, walking as a black man in an affluent area. I can tell when people see me as prey and think they have all the power to do what they want. It is not a good feeling!
You can take the meanest greediest person off the street, train them, invest in them, give them a UNIFORM and they will still in their heart be mean and of bad character.
Serious consideration needs to be taken to the character of officers, not just raising salaries to entice people to join the force.
Throughout history mercenaries have fought for who ever pays well enough. Is this who we want policing us?
Kudos to the ones who care and know how treat people with respect & dignity.
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