{"id":217942,"date":"2024-12-04T08:38:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-04T12:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=217942"},"modified":"2024-12-04T08:38:58","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T12:38:58","slug":"letter-nothing-is-wrong-with-appointment-of-special-constables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/letter-nothing-is-wrong-with-appointment-of-special-constables\/","title":{"rendered":"LETTER: Nothing is wrong with appointment of Special Constables"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>
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Dear Editor,<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kindly allow me to address a public concern through your platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m concerned that people who know better continue to spew unnecessary rhetoric for political gain, and therefore ask the public to pick sense from nonsense.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A while ago, former Commissioner of Police Mr. Rawlston Pompey raised some concerns about the latest batch of police officers being appointed as \u2018Special Constables\u2019, and ever since, several public figures have decried the action as some sort of administrative error of massive scale. And while I cannot speak to the intentions of the current Commissioner of Police, or the Attorney General, allow me to state some facts that will lay some context for the alleged fiasco:<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The cohort of course 49 were appointed as \u2018Special Constables\u2019 in April 2024, about the time that they would have commenced training. Traditionally, what happens is that they are brought in as full Police Officers (with all the duties, responsibilities and immunities of a Police Officer in full effect), and then undergo training. As special constables, however, they are limited in their responsibilities, duties, and immunities, and must be under the command, or supervision, of a Police Officer; a situation that is ideal for a training environment. What can therefore be deduced is that the powers that be sought to restrict the full powers of a police officer until after<\/em> they would have completed their training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By comparison, military recruits have limited duties, responsibilities and immunities compared to regular soldiers. They are also administratively treated differently than regular soldiers, and can be more easily terminated if they do not meet training criteria. Similarly, Special Constables can be discharged at any time, unlike full Police Officers, who are Public Servants and are protected by regulations. How then, would the police dismiss a recruit who fails to meet the standard while on training, if that recruit is already a Police Officer, protected by the Public Service and Police Service Commissions from arbitrary termination. <\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The public tirade in the media against an administrative change that is objectively better than the established system is reprehensible, and reeks of a desperate reach for political ammunition at the expense of our public systems of administration. And while I encourage criticism of administrative inefficiencies, there are more important matters of actual concern that are to be voiced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regards,<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A citizen who knows better<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Editor, Kindly allow me to address a public concern through your platform. I\u2019m concerned that people who know better continue to spew unnecessary rhetoric for political gain, and therefore ask the public to pick sense from nonsense. A while ago, former Commissioner of Police Mr. Rawlston Pompey raised some concerns about the latest batch of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":217101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-217942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nLETTER: Nothing is wrong with appointment of Special Constables - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/letter-nothing-is-wrong-with-appointment-of-special-constables\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LETTER: Nothing is wrong with appointment of Special Constables\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear Editor, Kindly allow me to address a public concern through your platform. 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