The Barbados Police Service | |
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Abbreviation | TBPS |
Motto | To serve, protect and reassure |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 1835 |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction | Barbados, West Indies |
Governing body | Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs (Barbados) |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | Barbados Police Headquarters Roebuck Street, Bridgetown, St. Michael, Barbados |
Elected officer responsible |
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Agency executive |
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Website | |
www.barbadospolice.gov.bb |
The Barbados Police Service (BPS), previously called the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF), is the law enforcement agency in Barbados, as established under the Police Act, Cap. 167. [1] Richard Boyce is currently Commissioner of the Police.
The BPS is divided into five operational divisions: the Northern Division, Southern Division, Bridgetown Division, Criminal Investigations Division and Operations Support Division. These are supported by the Administrative Services Division [2] The organisational structure of the BPS is modelled after London's Metropolitan Police Service.
In recent years, a growing number of Barbadian police officers have been recruited to take up jobs in the Bermuda Police Service. [3]
The main Police Force of Barbados was established in 1835. [4] Soon after its founding the Police Force informally had mounted policemen, however in 1880 an actual mounted division was recognised and known as the Mounted Corps. (later renamed the Mounted Branch in 1933.) In 1882, the Harbour Police Force was unified with the main land division after it had been established separately in 1867. Roughly 100 years later in the 1980s the Harbour Police unit was dissolved entirely.
The prefix Royal was added to the title of the Police Force in February 1966 during a visit to Barbados by Queen Elizabeth II. Until November 2021, Royal had remained as part of the name and identity of the force.
In 1981, the Royal Barbados Police Force became a full member of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). [5]
In 2021, the name Barbados Police Service was selected to be the new name for the Royal Barbados Police Force and replaced the old name when Barbados became a republic on November 30, 2021. The name was selected to reflect the removal of the Queen as head of state and as stated by the Minister of Legal Affairs Dale Marshall, "...the police force as it is now and as we want it to be in the future, has to be more than the notion of brute strength, a force pushing against people and pushing against objects because policing has long ago stopped being centered on brawn and force". [6]
The headquarters for the BPS is in the former Barclays Bank Complex on Lower Roebuck Street, Bridgetown, Saint Michael. [7]
The headquarters houses the Commissioner of Police; the Deputy Commissioner of Police; the offices of all assistant commissioners of police; all staff officers of the above commissioners; the secretary to the Commissioner of Police; the Research and Development Department; the Police Registry; and the Office of Compliance.
Royal Barbados Police Force ranks | ||||||||||
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Rank | Constable | Sergeant | Station Sergeant | Inspector | Assistant Superintendent | Superintendent | Senior Superintendent | Assistant Commissioner of Police | Deputy Commissioner of Police | Commissioner of Police |
Epaulette Insignia (to 2021) |
These insignia will be amended, removing St Edward's Crown, as Barbados became a republic in the Commonwealth of Nations on 30 November 2021.
District Police Stations:
Motto: To protect, serve and reassure.
Bridgetown is the capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The City", but the most common reference is simply "Town". As of 2014, its metropolitan population stands at roughly 110,000.
The parish of St. Michael is one of eleven parishes of Barbados. It has a land area of 39 km2 (15 sq mi) and is found at the southwest portion of the island. Saint Michael has survived by name as one of the original six parishes created in 1629 by Governor Sir William Tufton.
The High Commission of Canada in Barbados is Canada's main diplomatic mission to Barbados. The exact location is Bishop's Hill Court in Bridgetown, St. Michael. The auspices of the High Commission to Barbados also accredited to Eastern Caribbean counterpart islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as three British overseas territories: Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and Montserrat. It also includes consular and trade services for Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Martin and Sint Maarten.
The Bermuda Police Service is the law enforcement agency of the British Overseas Territory and former Imperial fortress of Bermuda. It is responsible for policing the entire archipelago, including incorporated municipalities, and the surrounding waters. It is part of, and entirely funded by, the Government of Bermuda. Like the Royal Bermuda Regiment, it is under the nominal control of the territory's Governor and Commander in Chief, although, for day-to-day purposes, control is delegated to a minister of the local government. It was created in 1879, as Bermuda's first professional police service. In organisation, operation, and dress, it was created and has developed in line with the patterns established by British Isles police services, such as the City of Glasgow Police, and the Metropolitan Police Service.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the nation of Barbados.
The Regional Security System (RSS) is an international agreement for the defence and security of the eastern Caribbean region with future expansion planned with South America.
The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) is the agency responsible for law enforcement in Saint Lucia. It was founded in 1834.
The monarchy of Barbados was a system of government in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign and head of state of Barbados from 1966 to 2021. Barbados shared the sovereign with the other Commonwealth realms, with the country's monarchy being separate and legally distinct. The monarch's operational and ceremonial duties were mostly delegated to her representative, the governor-general of Barbados.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Barbados:
The Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda is the law enforcement agency for Antigua and Barbuda. The Commissioner in 2017 was Atlee Rodney. The force has 350 officers.
The Royal Brunei Police Force, RBPF (Malay: Polis Diraja Brunei is in charge of keeping law and order in Brunei. The RBPF has been one of the 190 members of INTERPOL, an intergovernmental organisation worldwide since 1984.
Diplomatic relations between Canada and Barbados date back to 1907, when the Government of Canada opened a Trade Commissioner Service to the Caribbean region located in Bridgetown, Barbados. Following Barbadian independence from the United Kingdom in November 1966, the Canadian High Commission was established in Bridgetown, Barbados on 27 September 1973. There is a High Commission of Barbados in Ottawa and a Barbadian Consulate in Toronto. The relationship between both nations today partly falls under the larger gambit of Canada–Caribbean relations. As of 2014 it is estimated that as much as 8% of Canadian foreign investments in Barbados.
In 1959 the country of Barbados was changed from the Vestry system, into a more modern system of local government patterned after that of the United Kingdom. Two main sub-regions known as Districts were formed in Barbados, and the majority of the vestry parish councils, which acted as local government were consolidated and transferred into these larger areas and also the Bridgetown City Council. Both were simply known as the Northern and Southern districts, and a third separate area consisted of the City of Bridgetown. Each of these districts were run by Chairmen, and the city with a mayor affiliated with Barbados' political parties.
The Premier League is the top football league in Barbados. It was created in 1947 and is headed by the Barbados Football Association. Ten teams participate in this league. It is known as the Digicel Premier League for sponsorship reasons.
The Barbados Postal Service (B.P.S.) is the national postal operator of Barbados and operates as a department within the Government of Barbados where it reports to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Barbados Postal Service (B.P.S.) is headed by the acting Postmaster General, Sheila Greaves, who is responsible for maintaining the island’s postal services, subject to the laws of the island. In 1852, the Postal services for Barbados were reconstituted following the passage of local legislation enabling the delivery of inland postage.
The Botswana Police Service is the police service of Botswana and it is a part of Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security. The force has 9,500 police officers.
The Barbados Defence Force Band, is a musical element of the reserve units that make up the Headquarters Company, Barbados Regiment and the Barbados Defence Force. The musicians mainly range in ages between 18 and 50 years old and perform several types of music from light classics to Barbadian native music. The band is currently directed by Director of Music, Lieutenant Brian Cole.