Attorney General, Mr Rupert Jones, has told the members of the Royal Anguilla Police Force that they ought to be proud of their 43rd Anniversary, as they carried out their duties as detailed in section 20 of the Police Act, which he read out.
Mr Jones was at the time delivering a lecture to the Police on Monday, January 26, as part of their programme of activities. He took the opportunity to pledge the continued support of his Chambers for them in the proper discharge of their duties.
“I am here to support you, and on this 43rd Anniversary I would like to remind you of that,” he went on. “Your role is to enforce the law and as long as you operate within the law, at all times, we are here to support you. I already mentioned that that involves the very highest standards of integrity; it involves the highest standards of honesty; involves the highest standards of applying the law. That means there are no compromises of ways out; that means you only ever use reasonable force when it is proportionate to the circumstances.
“I know you all know that, and it doesn’t need me to remind you that with the powers that you have, also comes responsibility – and at times it may feel unfair that you are held to higher standards than others. But that is the nature of who you are because you chose or were called to do what you did. Therefore, both you and the law expect that much of you everyday, every time you put on a uniform, every time you step out on the street; every time you interact with the public.”
The Attorney General stressed that the law was not static or fixed as was sometimes thought; but could be reformed, and there were things that his Chambers, the Police and the island generally could think about together. He was of the view that a strong Police Force was open to change and that there were things that could be done differently.
“One might be how could we reduce gun crime? How could we prosecute it more effectively in liaison with my Chambers? How could we get criminal cases for prosecution for trial at the High Court more quickly? How could we get witnesses to come forward to give evidence? How could we liaise with the community even better than how we do it now? They are all big questions and I want us start thinking about them.
Mr Jones addressed the three themes of the Police Anniversary Week as follows:
“They are firstly ‘Ready to Protect’; secondly, ‘Proud to be of Service’; and thirdly, ‘Relentless in our pursuit of Safety and Justice’. ‘Ready to Protect’ the first: As a Force, you are ready to protect and you do that in your engagement with the public. You do that at all times, acting within the law and with respect for those who, at sometimes, may not deserve it. I know that sometimes you are called upon to go that bit beyond that which you are actually required to do, but I hope that all of you do that from the goodness of your heart and in line with your call to do this job.
“That means that you should be very proud of yourselves – and that is the second theme – ‘Proud to be of Service’. You have an image and quite likely a good, strong image as a Police Force. As you maintain that image, in the way that each one of you individually acts, you do it within the law, within a budget which can be tight at times, but you also do it because you are doing it on behalf of every individual member of this island. You are for them a rock, and every member of the public should be your eyes and your ears – and you enforce the law without favour or affection irrespective of personal relationships; irrespective of malice or ill will, and that’s the oath that you took upon accepting office.
“The third theme is that you are ‘Relentless in your pursuit of Safety and Justice’. That means thinking creatively. You have powers within the law to investigate; to arrest in order to prevent crime; and to catch criminals. You do that on behalf of the community and you prevent that social unrest within the community; and you can affect the way community acts by offering an example; and it is often said that you achieve more with love than with fear. There may be times that you need to show the old-fashioned strong arm of the law but, nine times out of ten, you can affect more by the way you go about your roles.”
The Attorney General added: “I end where I began by thanking you for your service – not just this year or the past forty-three years – but in this coming year.”
