British officers quit St. Lucia Police Force

LEAD-ST LUCIA-British officers quit St. Lucia Police Force

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC - Three British officers have tendered their resignations from the St. Lucia Police Force despite reports of a truce between the British-born Acting Commissioner John Broughton and the Police Welfare Association (PWA).

The latest officer to call it quits on Wednesday was the Head of Central Intelligence, Superintendent Les Milner.

His resignation, which takes effect in three months, follows that of two other British officers, Superintendent Paul Common and Assistant Commissioner Adrian Maybanks.

The three were among 10 retired British officers who were recruited by the former St. Lucia Labour Party government to assist in the re-organisation of the Force and to help fight crime.

Superintendent Common, who is in charge of Community Policing, handed in his resignation two weeks ago and will leave St. Lucia in July, while Assistant Commissioner Maybanks left for health reasons and returned to England last month.

The departures come against the backdrop of recent problems within the Force. At one stage the PWA had demanded the resignation of Broughton but the British officers indicated that they did not support the call from the Association and wanted to get on with the job of policing the country.

An official of the Police High Command said the officers were also frustrated over the delay in obtaining resources to carry out their duties.

While the PWA has discontinued calls for Broughton’s resignation following an agreement reached on the way forward for the organisation, President Verne Garde and a staff officer who were transferred after leading that call have not had their transfers rescinded.

Talks have been continuing with the Commissioner on the matter in the presence of attorneys representing the officers.

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