Officers from the Beach Safety and Security Unit within the Ministry of Tourism and, Investment with the support of the Royal Police Force of Antigua & Barbuda, have successfully completed the first of what will be an annual special training programme aimed at improving and enhancing beach security in Antigua & Barbuda.
The 6-week training which began on May 17, 2021, at the Sir Wright F George Police Academy, saw Twelve officers from the BSSU being trained in areas such as conflict resolution, code of ethics, human rights, beach legislation, crime prevention, litter act, beach protection act, citizen’s arrest, maritime laws and enforcement, and many other areas that would equip them with the skills to propel and improve beach safety and security.
Peter Slowe, Technical Trainer, and Lifeguard within the BSSU said one of the topics that stood out in the training for the officers was routine patrol briefing and debriefing, Slowe said, “the information was skillfully disseminated, routine patrol sharpened our patrolling and observation skills, briefing and debriefing prepared us for conducting effective briefing and debriefing and we had the opportunity to conduct mock briefings and debriefings during our training.”
Permanent Secretary within the Ministry of Tourism & Investment, Mr. Walter Christopher said he is extremely pleased to see the completion of the specially formulated tourism training programme. He noted, “tourism security is a new and emerging field in tourism product development, and the downtime during the ongoing pandemic presented a great opportunity to plan ahead in anticipation of the return of a busy tourism sector post-pandemic.
Featured speaker and the Director of Policy and Planning within the Ministry of Tourism and Investment, Mr. St. Clair Soleyn, in his brief remarks stated, over the last 4 years the Ministry has been very active and very determined to professionalize the industry, he noted, “the ministry has a responsibility to set policies for the destination and the decision was made to start with one of the most difficult areas to manage and monitor, that is the beaches”.
“We now know that we are sending out a cadre of trained professionals who are well equipped to handle persons in distress, disturbances, and any beach security-related matters,” Mr. Soleyn continued.
Commissioner of Police Mr. Atley P Rodney in his remarks said he has no doubt that the 12 participants will be leaving the training armed with the skills and knowledge to assist citizens and visitors who utilize the beaches, the police force and to improve the safety and security of a very important tourism product.
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