| Royal Saint Lucia Police Force | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | RSLPF |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1834 |
| Employees | 1,045 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Saint Lucia |
| Size | 238 square miles (620 km2) |
| Population | 175,000 |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Agency executive |
|
| Facilities | |
| Stations | 14 |
The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) is the agency responsible for law enforcement in Saint Lucia. [1] It was founded in 1834. [2]
The Commissioner of Police is Crusita Descartes-Pelius, [3] who commands 957 police officers and civilian employees, [4] in 14 police stations, who serve a resident population of 175,000. [2] Each department or station is headed by a Superintendent of Police and an Assistant Superintendent of Police.
The RSLPF maintains two paramilitary sub organizations; the Special Service Unit, and the Coast Guard, both units are responsible for internal security. [4] Defense is the responsibility of Regional Security System. [5] There is only one non-policing organization under the command of the RSLPF, the Immigration Service. [6]
The RSLPF includes The Royal Saint Lucia Police Band, which is a specialized department within the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force. The Band consists of Police Constables (PC and SPC), as well as Trainee and Supervising ranks who specialize in Music and Arts.
The Band rank structure is that of the same as most units within the RSLPF. Most members hold the rank of Police Constable (PC and SPC) or above. These ranks carry out and conduct the duties and responsibilities of a State Commissioned Police Officer (Law Enforcement) with the exception being Band Cadets and Band Apprentices; both of which are trainee ranks not sworn to uphold the law by oath.
The RSLPB has hosted bands such as the Hampshire Band [7] and the Royal Barbados Police Band. It is revered as one of the best-uniformed marching bands in the Eastern Caribbean. It was founded on 18 June 1947 under the direction of Nathaniel Griffith and consisting of 6 policemen. Since its establishment, it has increased sevenfold to the size of 42, a number that includes 4 females. [8] The Band are well known for performances at state events such as the Independence Day Parade in Castries [9] and Remembrance Sunday celebrations.
In 2015 the Saint Lucia police said that they were under-resourced, with not enough police officers to keep up with the crime case load. [10]
The Saint Lucia police have been accused of keeping death lists and carrying out extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals in an attempt to make St Lucia more attractive to tourists. [11] Shootings by police took place in 2010 and 2011 during a security drive called Operation Restore Confidence, which was aimed at reducing violent crime and boosting tourism following the murder of a British tourist. [11]
A report by independent investigators from the Jamaica Constabulary Force in 2015 claimed that officers from the Royal St. Lucia Police Force staged a dozen killings of suspected criminals. [11] The police then reported the killings as murders committed by unknown assailants, planting weapons at the scene. [11] In August 2013 the US government suspended assistance to the Saint Lucia police in light of rumours of the extrajudicial killings. [11] In June 2021, the United States restored assistance to selected units of the RSLPF, such as the Immigration and Marine Units. [12]
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, protect public order, and the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers encompass arrest and the use of force legitimized by the state via the monopoly on violence. The term is most commonly associated with the police forces of a sovereign state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as being separate from the military and other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however, gendarmerie are military units charged with civil policing. Police forces are usually public sector services, funded through taxes.
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), until recently officially known as the Metropolitan Police, which is still its common name, serves as the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and crime prevention within the ceremonial county of Greater London. In addition, it is responsible for specialised tasks throughout the United Kingdom, such as UK counter-terrorism measures, and the protection of certain individuals, including the monarch, royal family, governmental officials, and other designated figures. Commonly referred to as the Met, it is also referred to as Scotland Yard or the Yard, after the location of its original headquarters in Great Scotland Yard, Whitehall in the 19th century. Its present headquarters are near there at New Scotland Yard on the Victoria Embankment.
Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Most law enforcement duties are carried out by those who hold the office of police constable of a territorial police force.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch. The name derives from the CID of the Metropolitan Police, formed on 8 April 1878 by C. E. Howard Vincent as a re-formation of its Detective Branch. British colonial police forces all over the world adopted the terminology developed in the UK in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and later the police forces of those countries often retained it after independence. English-language media often use "CID" as a translation to refer to comparable organisations in other countries.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is the national police force of Zimbabwe, having succeeded the British South Africa Police on 1 August 1980.
The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police service created in North America and is one of the oldest police services in the English-speaking world.
The Metro Vancouver Transit Police (MVTP), previously the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service and formally the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service (SCBCTAPS), is the police force for TransLink, the public transit system of the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada.
The Kenya Police Service is a national body in charge of law enforcement in Kenya. It is subordinate to National Police Service which is headed by Inspector General of Police who exercises independent command over the Service. Kenya Police is headed by Deputy Inspector General. Kenya Police is divided into Service Headquarters in Nairobi, Formations, General Duty Commands and Training Institutions.
The Royal Falkland Islands Police (RFIP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the Falkland Islands. The current Chief Police Officer is Superintendent Barry Thacker. The Falkland Islands Police Force was granted the "Royal" prefix by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 January 1992.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is the national police force of Jamaica.
Law enforcement in Belgium is conducted by an integrated police service structured on the federal and local levels, made up of the Federal Police and the Local Police. Both forces are autonomous and subordinate to different authorities, but linked in regard to reciprocal support, recruitment, manpower mobility and common training.
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. Richard Boyce is currently Commissioner of the Police.
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.
National Police Corps, colloquially in English as Dutch National Police or National Police Force, is divided in ten regional units, two national units, the police academy, police services center, and national dispatch center cooperation. The law-enforcement purposes of these agencies are the investigation of suspected criminal activity, referral of the results of investigations to the courts, and the temporary detention of suspected criminals pending judicial action. Law enforcement agencies, to varying degrees at different levels of government and in different agencies, are also commonly charged with the responsibilities of deterring criminal activity and preventing the successful commission of crimes in progress. The police commissioner in the Netherlands is Janny Knol since March 1, 2024.
The Nigeria Police Force is the principal law enforcement and the lead security agency in Nigeria. Designated by the 1999 constitution as the national police of Nigeria with exclusive jurisdiction throughout the country, as at 2016 it has a staff strength of about 371,800. There are currently plans to increase the force to 650,000, adding 280,000 new recruits to the existing 370,000. The Nigeria Police Force is a very large organisation consisting of 36 State commands and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) grouped into 17 zones and 8 administrative organs. The agency is currently headed by IGP Kayode Egbetokun. In 2020, it underwent major overhauls.
The Public Security Police Force is the non-criminal police department of Macau and a branch of the Macau Security Force. Originally known at first as the Macau Police, the force went through several name changes before taking on its current name. The PSP celebrates its foundation on 14 March 1691.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime that goes across regional and international borders, but it can be tasked to investigate any crime. The NCA has a strategic role as part of which it looks at serious crime in aggregate across the UK, especially analysing how organised criminals are operating and how they can be disrupted. To do this, it works closely with regional organised crime units (ROCUs), local police forces, and other government departments and agencies.
Crime in Saint Lucia has become a major problem. It is investigated by the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force.
The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament, Firm in Action" in Sanskrit. It operates under the Department of Home Affairs, Government of Kerala. The force is headed by the State Police Chief, and the incumbent chief is Shaikh Darvesh Sahib, IPS.
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force is the national police force of the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and northern West Indies. It is one of the oldest police forces in the world.
