This year’s lecture at the Royal Anguilla Police Force, now celebrating its 44th Anniversary, was delivered on Monday, January 25, by the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Assembly, Ms. Palmavon Webster.
A focal point of her address was that, unlike in other countries with a repressive and corrupt police force, her expectation is that the police force in Anguilla “will be a m3ajor force for good”. In that vein, she called for a crusade whereby the police would represent the people of Anguilla, becoming their best friends without risk of injustice. She stresse
d the importance of cooperation in the fight against crime to achieve “a happier, safer and more integrated country”. She pointed out that every citizen of Anguilla had a responsibility to join in “the crusade to rebuild a crime-free and socially responsible Anguilla”.
Following is the full text of her lecture:
“Policing in this day and age affects the lives of everyone living in countries with functioning police services.
While this influence manifests itself in many different ways – sometimes negatively in repressive or corrupt environments – it is my aspiration and indeed my expectation that in Anguilla the police service will be a major force for good.
It is well recognised that the police force in any country can have a major, if not decisive, influence on citizen’s inclinations to commit crime and generally to cooperate in the production of social order.
What factors are involved in this process? They are founded on specific concepts of trust, legitimacy and the nature of the relationship between police and public – in particular, that the police represent and embody a social group most people want to, need to and indeed do feel part of.
To achieve that synergy between public and police, both police and public need to see a role for policing that extends far beyond simply dealing with crimes when they have been committed. It requires the establishment of a relationship between police and public that is based upon and builds trust.
As a police force – Anguilla’s police force – “our” police force – you are very fortunate to have a highly experienced Commissioner of Police who understands this emotional chemistry, and who can – and I am confident will – help you all build that bond between police and public that is so essential to the relationship I have described. Some of you – many of you I know – understand all of this already and are already there. The trick will be to get all of you on the same page and meeting the same objectives. Your Commissioner will do so, I am sure – though I have no wish to trespass too far onto his territory – by taking all the steps necessary, and providing all the support he can, to ensure that you, “our” police, can influence all the people of Anguilla in consensual and non-confrontational ways. That will involve the building of trust by ensuring that ALL actions you take are fair and justified; that sensitive confidences
can be relied upon to be respected as confidences; and that the procedures you follow are undertaken strictly in accordance with the law. No corners can be cut on these issues. Just one breach of confidence or abuse of trust can undo months and years of progress and can lose the trust of the very people on whose cooperation and trust you depend for supporting your efforts.
Once you have built the trust I am describing, you will be amazed by the effect it will have on all the people, from the oldest campaigners down to the youth and the children.
And speaking of the youth, you may wonder why I have taken so long to get to them. YOU know that they are the key to our future. Most of you are an integral part of our youth. Your opportunities to influence them for good are of overwhelming importance in the crusade – and I really would like you to regard this as a crusade – to rebuild Anguilla as the safe and inspiring place it once was; as a place where it is not only morally but also practically right to obey the law and serve the best interests of your fellow citizens.
For some of you that will be a memory, because there have been occasions we can remember where the values so crucial to people’s trust in the police have been breached, with serious consequences in terms of cooperation, social cohesion and anxiety around crime and disorder. For some of you, the corrosion of our values may have started before you became as socially aware as I am sure each and every one of you must be, otherwise you would not have chosen the worthwhile profession of policing as a career.
The purpose of our crusade should be to bring back the notion that the police represent us and are our best friends; not that they are against us and that we risk injustice if we ever get involved with them.
We have to decide and YOU have to decide whether you, the police, exist first and foremost to ‘fight crime’, or whether you have a wider social function that includes dispute resolution, crime prevention (as opposed to detection), social care and above all securing the cooperation of the public in your activities. My strong conviction is that we shall be a happier, safer and more integrated country if the people’s cooperation with you, the police, and their compliance, are based on trust and legitimacy, rather than on fear of punishment.
But don’t get me wrong. You, the police, are not the only ones who bear the responsibility for this crusade – the crusade to rebuild a crime free and socially responsible Anguilla. Each and every citizen of Anguilla has a responsibility to understand your role; to understand the difficulties you face; and to support you in your vitally important work towards a better Anguilla. I call upon the entire populace of Anguilla to work with you and for you; to engage with you; and to have zero tolerance towards those who seek to perpetuate any obstacles towards the accomplishment of your objectives.”
(Address published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
