A one-verse tune, written by Pastor Philip Gumbs of the Church of God (Holiness), on the Queen Elizabeth Avenue, set the tone for the 46th Anniversary Service of the Royal Anguilla Police Force – and both the officers and the congregation were asked to sing it until they learned it. The verse went as follows:
O God, please hear our cry
Save our land from sin’s dark night
Strengthen all who stand to shield
Protect and bless the RAPF.
While the verse was a prayer for the Anguilla Police Officers, it was also an appeal for them to examine themselves to ensure that their way of life and call to duty were in keeping with the high tenets of service expected of them. It was also a way of safeguarding their public image.
“There is something that we mess with a lot, and we think it is okay and that is righteousness,” the outspoken preacher stressed in his sermon on Sunday, January 28. “I am here today to say, according to the authority of God’s Word, that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. Righteousness exalts a police force, but sin is a reproach to any police force. Righteousness exalts a church, but sin is a reproach to any church. Righteousness exalts a government, but sin is a reproach to any government. Don’t’ mess with it.”
Pastor Gumbs, who is Chairman of the Anguilla Public Service Commission, recalled that at one time consideration was given to changing the name of the island’s law enforcement body from Police Force to Police Service, a gentler term. He was happy that the first name was retained as it indicated that in solving crime the police were required to act with force. “The Royal Anguilla Police Force, like every police force in the world, is there to protect people; to prevent [crime] and to preserve [law and order],” he went on. “It is saying, then, that there is something wrong with society and we need to be protected from the criminals in our midst. We need to be protected even from ourselves.”
He noted that the Mission Statement of the Royal Anguilla Police Force was as follows:
Respond to the needs of the community of Anguilla by providing cost-effective policing services 24/7, working in partnership with the community and reducing crime and violence to enhance the lives of all those who live, work and stay in Anguilla.
He took the opportunity to refer to various incidents of crime on the island including prostitution involving foreign women; gang and gun violence and threats of retaliation among youngsters lacking fatherly direction. “When you look at these guys in Anguilla, who are carrying guns, you will find, almost without exception, that their fathers are not present in their lives,” he charged. He pledged that his goal was to raise his own three children and their children in the same manner in which his father, the late “Dudley Gumbs, a righteous man,” raised and nurtured him and his siblings.
Following his sermon, Pastor Gumbs invited the Anguilla Police, as well as their
counterpart Police Officers from French St. Martin and Dutch St. Maarten, for prayer at the altar.
Earlier in the service, Mr. Paul Morrison, Anguilla’s Police Commissioner, addressed the gathering. “Over the past two years the Royal Anguilla Police Force published a comprehensive policing strategy that set our intentions to build a police force and to improve its public services, and we have delivered,” he reported.
Among other matters, he stated that the public’s charge, that police officers were not confidential, was no longer an issue having been dealt with. He further said the police policy had placed very heavy emphasis on fighting serious crime. “This has seen a reduction in gun crime and the seizure of more arms and ammunition than before,” he stated. According to him, there has been a 60 percent reduction in burglaries and thefts. Steps have been taken to tackle internal corruption “by making it increasingly harder and harder for people to put their hand inside the cookie jar.’”
Commissioner Morrison added: “We have gone a long way. We still have a long way to go but our duties are dependent on public approval. We must therefore always strive to secure the willing cooperation of the public.”
The Commissioner was presented with a plaque by Mrs. Sonia Skellekie, a former police officer now an employee at the Department of Social Development. She presented the award on behalf of the Church of God (Holiness) and in recognition of the police force’s 46 years of dedicated service to Anguilla.
Comments on the anniversary celebrations of the Royal Anguilla Police Force were given by Commander Major Antonio Rogers of the Voluntary Korps Service (VKS), St. Maarten. Mr. Rogers, a descendant of Anguillian parentage, encouraged his counterparts in Anguilla to continue to strive for success, saying: “Whatever you feel you can achieve, you will achieve.”
He added: “Anguilla and St. Maarten are navigating these troubled times together. Let us remain focused on our duties to construct a fair and just society built on the pillars of solidarity, integrity, responsibility and accountability.”
The service was followed by a march-past – performed by the Police Officers from Anguilla, St. Martin and St. Maarten – led by the Police/Community Band. Among the officials in the salute line were Anguilla’s Deputy Governor, Mr. Perin Bradley; Chief Minister, Mr. Victor Banks; Commissioner Paul Morrison; and Commander Major Antonia Rogers, along with other representatives from the neighbouring twin French and Dutch territory.
