The story told by Tristan, a young tattoo artist, should alarm every Vincentian. Police officers searched his home at 4 a.m. He went to the Central Police Station. From there, he was sent to the outstation at Ottley Hall. At Ottley Hall he was pushed out of the compound without answers. When he asked for the officer’s name and badge number, he was refused. He later said he was struck, blacked out, and woke up back at the Central Police Station.
This is frightening. If a citizen cannot even know the name or badge number of the police officer standing in front of him, then who is protecting whom? Who is holding power to account? Badge numbers are not decorations. They are the people’s shield against abuse. They are supposed to be on every uniform, visible to all. Their absence is not an oversight. It is a dangerous signal.
And this practice of officers on duty without badge numbers is not how it always was. For decades, badge numbers were displayed clearly. It is only in the past decade that this has quietly disappeared. That change should trouble us all.
Even more troubling is that brutality is not rare. In the past two weeks alone, several cases of police violence have been caught on camera. If that is what we see in public, what about what happens behind closed doors or in places where there are no cameras? And just recently, a police officer was charged with attempted murder after stabbing his ex-girlfriend 23 times. Where are these officers coming from? How are they even getting into the police force? This is frightening.
The truth is that our police force is in crisis. Our stations are crumbling. Too many officers are poorly trained. Too many rogues are wearing uniforms they do not deserve. The result is what we are seeing now: brutality, secrecy, fear, and lives destroyed.
This country deserves better. Our police need proper facilities. They need real training. The unfit must be dismissed without hesitation. And accountability must return. Every officer must be identifiable. Every uniform must carry a badge number.
The people of this nation have a right to know who is policing them. We must demand it. Enough is enough.
A Concerned Citizen
The Views expressed are not those of Asberth News Network. All opinion piece must be sent to [email protected]