Prisons Superintendent ,Ms Sasso with prison trainers
and prison officers
Commissioner Paul Morrison, Training Commander Kenneth Millette, other trainers and recruits
On Monday, March 16, sixteen officers at Her Majesty’s Prison in Anguilla began a four-month training course alongside thirteen recruits of the Royal Anguilla Police Force whose training is running for six months.
Both courses are being held at the Anguilla Police Recruit Training Centre on the compound of the Central Baptist Church at Rey Hill and will conclude at the end of June.
The Training Commandant, Police Superintendent, Mr. Kenneth Millette, outlined the course: “The training for the officers of Her Majesty’s Prison will be similar to that for the recruits of the Royal Anguilla Police Force,” he explained. “They will be instructed on orientation and foundation; offences against the person; conversational Spanish; and various offences committed in and around the prison’s environment. Additionally, they will be instructed on specific topics that concern the job of a prison officer. These include professional conduct; information technology; use of force; rehabilitation; self-search; sentence planning; drugs and their effect; and officers’ disciplinary procedures.”
Mr. Millette said that the staff at the Training Centre comprised police officers; members of the legal fraternity; the teaching profession; prison instructors; and various other social partners.
He added: “As is the case with the police recruits, there will be written and practical examinations at various stages of the course. This will afford each student to compete for the various awards including the coveted Baton of Honour and Best at Physical Training.”
Superintendent of Prison, Ms. Carice Sasso, said that Her Majesty’s Prison was very grateful for the opportunity to join the Police in the training programme; and was thankful to all the trainees for their participation. “For most of you, this is your first time taking part in an intensive training programme – and I can only imagine the pain and the desire to want to give up,” she stated. “As your Superintendent, I can share your sentiments as I too went through extensive training when I joined the United States Armed Forces in 2007. It always seems impossible until it is done. However, I encourage you not to quit. As the saying goes, ‘Winners never quit. Quitters never win.’ So push past the pain. Work together as a team; assist one another and cross the finishing line together. Hold hands and claim the victory at the end of the training.”
Ms. Sasso concluded: “This training will help you to become better Prison Officers, ready to face the task ahead. I commend you for what you have accomplished thus far, and pray that you endure to the end.”
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Paul Morrison, thanked “the young men and young women for putting themselves forward to carry our uniformed services, in both the police and the prison, for the betterment of Anguilla.” He went on: “These are tough jobs. They cannot be undertaken without training. Their training must be first class. We are lucky in that we have the skills and the capacity to deliver that training.”
Mr. Morrison said that there was no intention to break the link with the Regional Police Training Centre in Barbados “but this training is tailored to Anguilla. It is tailored to the communities and the people of Anguilla and the police service that they want – not the police service that Barbados wants. It is the police and the prison service that Anguilla wants.”
He pointed out that during last year it was not possible to have police recruits for training – and as a result there was a need to recruit a large volume of persons; and that the only way to do that was to train locally.
The Police Commissioner expressed gratitude to the Central Baptist Church for allowing the Royal Anguilla Police Force to use its premises. “The training centre has a mini parade square, two classrooms and an instructor’s office. It is well suited to the delivery of this training. This training is tough because we are transitioning people from civilian life into uniformed disciplined service. When you are a police officer, or a prison officer, you are not just that for eight hours, five days a week. You are that 24/7 for 365 days until the day you leave.”
He advised both the police and prison officers that they could be called on for duty at anytime to deliver service. “Undoubtedly, as we go through this COVID-19 challenge which is not just Anguilla, but which the entire world faces, we will see probably up to 30 percent of our workforce move into either in some form of the sickness or into caring responsibilities. That means that 30 percent of the workforce will not be here. The ones who are left will have to carry the burden for everyone.”
Other persons who participated in the opening ceremony were Instructor Randy Dick who delivered the introductory and closing remarks; and the Prison Chaplain, Apostle Elmead Allen.
