As is customary, the Royal Anguilla Police Force observed the beginning of its annual Police Week with a church service. This year, the service was held at the Church of God (Holiness) on Sunday, January 24th.
The current Commissioner of Police, Mr. Paul Morrison, now winding down his tenure of service in Anguilla, gave an address in which he bade farewell to the Anguillian community while commending his colleagues and expressing his best wishes for the future wellbeing of the Force. Extracts from that address follow:
“It has always been my pleasure to speak at the church service which traditionally opens Police Week, and now that this is my very last Police Week, as Commissioner, I wish the Force every success for the future in what is a celebration of policing and community.
“This is the 49th anniversary of the Royal Anguilla Police Force, and the members of the Police Community Staff Association have worked extremely hard, as they always do, to put another Police Week programme together. This programme reinforces the commitment we need to build relationships in communities across Anguilla.
“Police Week is all about nurturing the relationship between the Royal Anguilla Police Force and the community. We must strive to keep Anguilla safe, and this involves us all working together. This year’s theme could not be more fitting: ‘A Safer Anguilla When We All Work Together’.
“Police Officers are regarded as citizens in uniform. They exercise their powers to police their fellow-citizens with the implicit consent of those citizens. Policing by consent indicates that the legitimacy of policing, in the eyes of the public, is based upon a general consensus of support that follows from transparency about our powers, our integrity in exercising those powers, as well as our accountability when we do so. However, these facts must not get in the way of recognising that it is all our duties as citizens to reduce crime.
“As citizens and residents of this beautiful island, we all have a special responsibility to do what is necessary to prevent and eradicate crime — in an effort to keep this island safe for our children and our families, as well as the visitors who come to our shores as tourists to support our economy. An effective Police Force must therefore promote Anguilla as a safe destination, and it must be in the country’s economic interest to have an effective Police Force.
“Today, I ask all people of Anguilla to get behind the Royal Anguilla Police Force and support these officers who are doing their duty to serve and protect the community. They often have to work long hours and often put themselves in harm’s way.
“This year has seen the Royal Anguilla Police Force increased with the introduction of fifty special constables. As we are fighting crime, we have also been working hard to enforce health — and work with our health colleagues in order to keep the country safe from COVID-19. These persons have volunteered to step up and carry out their duties as citizens who are protecting the country.
“When I now look back, I see that we have come a long way in a short space of time. It has not been an easy journey by any means, but one that is worth taking. As I look back, I can see marked differences in so many aspects of policing, and I am happy that I have tried my very best for the people of Anguilla…
“I commend all the members of the RAPF for their dedication, patience and diligence shown during these past five years of my service with them. It was always my goal to develop leadership at all levels of this organisation by equipping the officers to make good decisions and building their confidence…
“I am grateful to all individuals and organisations within the community which have actively assisted in their support of our officers… I am also very grateful for the support we received from the Government of Anguilla, the Governor, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and all the other agencies that we work with including the DEA and the FBI, and the Intelligence Units in both the Dutch and French St. Martin.
“As I close my role of leadership, I go out with two points: 1. the development of leaders for the future, and 2. leaving the organisation in a better shape — at the end — than as it was when I inherited it. No matter how difficult the task, my duties had always come first. And doing the right thing is often the hardest thing to do, but that is the real test of leadership.
“So as I end my last Police Week address, I want to say to the community farewell. To my colleagues I say: ‘Please do your job. And enjoy Police Week. God bless you, and may God bless Anguilla.”’
Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
