Police Rebrand – By Kisean Joseph
Police Rebrand Meaningless Without
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“No bearing, no benefit, no value, it doesn’t bring anything,” Burnette said. “It’s just a play on words. It doesn’t add any benefit to the constabulary at all, period.”
Burnette, author of two books on policing in Antigua and Barbuda, said what the force truly needs is “radical leadership,” an injection of outside strength capable of restoring discipline and professionalism he believes have eroded over time.
Attorney-at-law Gail Pero, also appearing on the programme, agreed the issue runs deeper than semantics. She pointed to the absence of mandatory, ongoing training for officers as a structural failure within the organisation.
“Even starting with recruiting, when officers are recruited, after that short period they are sent out, but there’s no continuous training that’s mandated,” Pero said. “There’s nothing mandatory, and certainly it’s not connected to their promotion.”
Pero, a former educator who contested the St George’s constituency as an independent candidate, said she would like to see continuous professional development formally tied to career advancement, so officers know what is expected of them at each stage.
Burnette went further, revealing that the force has no formal promotion criteria beyond the rank of corporal a gap he says has persisted since independence.
“Up to this day, we are 46 or 47 years into independence, and the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda does not have a criteria for promotion,” Burnette said. “That is a shame and we’re talking about a name change to do what with?”
According to Burnette, the lack of a clear promotional pathway breeds low morale and indiscipline within the ranks, undermining the force’s ability to tackle rising crime. He said the Police Service Commission, meant to serve as a buffer between government and the police, is largely non-functional beyond approving promotions.
Pero said she had previously proposed, on a voluntary basis, that an independent complaints body be established to address indiscipline within the force, at no additional cost to government. She said the proposal was never acted upon.
“If we can help or fix the discipline, we can then fix the public trust, we can then fix the way the department functions, and then we could see this reduction in crime and violence,” Pero said.
Both guests said they believed government lacked the political will to pursue the deeper reforms needed, with Burnette describing the current administration as unable to “pull themselves out of the ashes” of the force’s accumulated problems.
Pero closed by urging citizens not to underestimate their own influence over the pace of reform.
“The power of the people is much stronger than the people in power,” she said.
