On Tuesday November 17, 2020, Commissioner of Police, Mr. Colin John held a meeting with senior officers of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF), its auxiliary, SVG Cadet Force, and other rank and file officers of the aforementioned organizations at the Old Montrose Lecture Hall. The purpose of the meeting was to review the security operations that were executed on Election Day 2020 among other matters.
In delivering brief remarks, Commissioner John told the audience that the General Elections were held in a very peaceful and tranquil atmosphere. This he attributed largely to the hard work that was put in by the officers so charged, and the general good conduct of the electors on polling day. He stated that although there were challenges, the Police and its counterparts were able to deal with them effectively.
The Commissioner thanked all of the officers who performed duties on Election Day and all the other persons who played in a role in ensuring that the mission was successfully executed.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Frankie Joseph and Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Christopher Benjamin also addressed the audience and thanked them for their service and strong dedication to duty.
As a gesture of appreciation for their exemplary work, Commissioner John ordered that all police officers who performed duties on Election Day be granted three (3) special days leave.
During the meeting, the Commissioner used the opportunity to present Regional Security System (RSS) Medals of Honour to a contingent of Vincentian police officers who were deployed to The Bahamas to perform humanitarian and security duties after the passage of hurricane Dorian which devastated the islands of Abacco and Grand Bahama.
The officers who received medals were PCs 102 Kevon Creese, 481 Dino Gould, 514 Utango Stapleton and 827 Cleveland Stephens and Sgt. 151 Julians Morgan, team leader
According to Sgt. Morgan, he led a five-member team from SVG as part of a wider RSS contingent to the Bahamas where the team spent almost seven (7) weeks on the island of Grand Bahama with the Rapid Response Unit.
Sgt. Morgan further stated that while there, the team assisted with traffic duties, house searches, stemming gang related violence, search and rescue and regular patrols.
The officers returned to SVG on November 4th 2019.