NASSAU, The Bahamas – Members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the United States Virgin Islands Police Departments recently completed a historic month-long pilot exchange program that is expected to become the model for other exchange programs between police departments and agencies throughout the Caribbean.
The exchange program was initiated by Bahamian Commissioner of Police Paul Farquharson Sr., who currently serves as president of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP) and U.S. Virgin Islands Police Commissioner Elton Lewis.
Mr. Bret Hardt, Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in New Providence, says the collaboration between The Bahamas and the U.S. territory further highlights the “extremely close” law enforcement relationship that exists between the United States and The Bahamas.
“I’ve often said that I cannot think of any law enforcement relationship in my experience as a diplomat that has been as close and productive as this relationship here and I think this is just one more way in which we can continue to build that,” Mr. Hart says.
“In my career as a diplomat, I have had an opportunity to work closely with the ACCP on numerous occasions and I know that it is an impressive regional organization that really gets a lot done and I am very pleased that the United States, in a certain way, has been able to participate in this pilot venture that will hopefully spread to other countries involved in the ACCP,” adds Mr. Hart.
Commissioner Farquharson says that while the exchange program was a result of an initiative developed by the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police, it took two bold commissioners in December, 2005, at the intercessional meeting of the ACCP in Barbados to “volunteer and step forward to make it happen”.
“I want to commend my colleague, Commissioner Lewis, for having accepted the challenge. This day is the result of that particular bold stepping forward,” Commissioner Farquharson says.
Commissioner Farquharson says the regular exchange of law enforcement officials; information and ideas are monumental in the fight against crime, the war on drugs, human smuggling and the war on terrorism not only regionally, but also globally.
“When we look at what criminals are doing across the worldwide landscape of things, when we look at drug and human smuggling and terrorism and the works, the criminals and the terrorists have no problems with crossing borders and talking and communicating and therefore police and law enforcements officers, whether it is regionally or internationally, should not be afraid to step forward without any red tape to make it happen,” adds Commissioner Farquharson.
Commissioner Farquharson says the friendships that are developed from the exchange programs transcend those of sharing common courtesies as they have far reaching implications on crime fighting and detection in participating jurisdictions.
“Because if you run into a problem, you can pick up the telephone and call your colleague in participating countries and ask for help and it is done almost instantly. That is one of the great benefits of these types of exchanges,” Commissioner Farquharson says. “These types of exchanges do not just forge friendships, they forge policing relationships that have proven to be beneficial to crime fighting techniques in various territories,” Commissioner Farquharson adds.
Commissioner Farquharson says that the four officers selected to participate in the program — two from each jurisdiction — benefited tremendously from the 30-day exchange program.
The officers selected to participate in the pilot program were Sergeant Marino Hines and Corporal Italia Williams of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Detective Corporal Walton Jack and Officer Mary Loubie of the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department.
Detective Corporal Jack received his Corporal’s Stripes during a special ceremony at Police Headquarters to celebrate the success of the program.
Commissioner Farquharson says the exchange program received the full support of the Government of The Bahamas and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security the Hon. Cynthia Pratt.
“When I presented her with the idea she said to me, ‘Go for it, we are behind you on this one’, and so I really want to publicly thank the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security for her support in this venture,” Commissioner Farquharson says.
“My officers who traveled to the U.S. Virgin Islands certainly told me about the experiences they had in accessing information and the hospitable way in which they were treated by the men and women of the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department and, indeed, the citizens of the U.S. Virgin Islands,” Commissioner Farquharson adds.
