The Birth of the Human Resource Department in the Royal St. Lucia Police Force

By Sgt.17 Rufus Ferdinand
Human Resource Officer

One expectation of Police Officers in the Royal St. Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) is the availability of competent officers who possess the necessary skills, training, leadership qualities and who are competent in developing business strategies that will help the RSLPF in achieving its goals and mission. In any organization, public or private, the human resource will influence greatly its growth, level of development and its success.

Several consultants recommended the establishment of the Human Resource Department within the Police Force to assist the organization in implementing and to bringing into existence the set guidelines and principles of Police Reform. As a result of these recommendations, the Department was established on August 5th 2002, under the management of Sergeant #17 Rufus Ferdinand with the support of British Consultant, Anne Mc Neille, former Commissioner of Police, Brian Bernard, Officers of the Royal St. Lucia Police Force and the Government of St. Lucia.

The main objective of this Department is to ensure that the RSLPF obtains the greatest possible benefit from its employees’ abilities and in turn, the employees will obtain both material and psychological rewards from their work. Failure to adhere to this objective will impact negatively on efficiency and productivity levels within the organization. Consequently, officers’ morale will be in decline and there will be a drastic reduction in officers’ standards, the performance and perception of the organization.

Police Reform to many, may be viewed as being impossible, since many people share the view that it is impossible to change an organization’s culture, especially one like the Royal St. Lucia Police Force. Police Reform involves providing the police service (Gazetted Officers, subordinate officers and support staff) with the support and flexibility they need to deliver a superb and first class service to the community they serve. Officers and support staff must be sensitized to the benefits of the new contemporary management and reward systems, which will replace the existing systems and procedures. The Human Resource Department will be establishing systems, which will monitor employees’ performance whilst employed in the Police Force (i.e. induction through to their retirement stage). In so doing, officers performances will be assessed against the needs and goals of the organization, thus enabling policy makers to identify officers strength and weaknesses, develop and train these officers in critical areas. This, however, will definitely give rise to police officers delivering a better quality service to the public. Also, police officers will be encouraged to develop themselves academically, and to equip themselves with the necessary skills and exposure needed to operate in this turbulent environment. In so doing, upward mobility will not be as a result of experience only but rather a combination of academic achievements, performance and experience.

For many years now, the level of training and exposure received by Police Officers especially in key areas such as crime scene management, forensic science, and managerial training especially for senior officers have been minimal. This can be attributed to several factors. The major reasons include: a lack of motivation by officers, the existence of improper management systems and procedures and inadequate support by the necessary authorities.

Within the RSLPF, upward mobility is based primarily on an officer’s experience and not on established guidelines or principles. If the Royal St. Lucia Police Force is to achieve its goals in the most efficient and effective manner, upward mobility must not be made only on this criterion. Alternatively, a Needs Analysis (NA) should be conducted which will assist policy makers in the selection of the most suitable candidate for a position. This candidate would have acquired the necessary skills, training and experience needed for that particular position. This will not only enhance the growth and development of the RSLPF but will also increase the level of productivity in the Force and the type of service we provide to our stakeholders.

This analysis will be conducted on a regular basis, hence providing the Human Resource Department with the necessary information that will assist with the recruitment, selection, development, promotion, and the performance appraisal process. This procedure will be supported by a Performance Management System (PMS), which will be managed and monitored, to ensure fair, timely and effective appraisal training and that officers’ development is not centralized but rather evenly distributed in the Force.

Persons will be selected for training based on prerequisites rather than arbitrary recommendations from supervisors. Prospective officers will be interviewed for the training, by a panel of judges where the most competent officers will be awarded the training opportunity.

Johnson and Scholes in their book, “Why Organizations Fail,” went on to say that in order for an organization to achieve its goals/objectives in today’s business environment, it is vital that its Human Resource acquire the necessary skills, training, and intellectual capabilities needed to achieve these goals. In many organizations, it has become rather impossible for an employee to perform at his best, especially at middle management level without the necessary skills and training, Mullins (1996). Many businesses have failed, especially in the third world countries, due to the fact that persons who have been empowered with supervisory responsibilities cannot function effectively in such dynamic environments.

For the RSLPF to function effectively, foster a positive public image, restore public confidence in the organization and continue the fight against crime, it must be guided by the same principles followed by any private business or enterprise. That is, “Value for Money.” In other words, its resources must be managed in the most effective and efficient manner and geared towards achieving the goals and objectives of the organization.

A man power planning system will be developed and maintained, which will facilitate the optimization of the organization’s resources and allowing the Human Resource Officer to liaise with supervising officers to monitor and plan training requirements for the various departments of the Force.
With the establishment of these new approaches and support of all Police Officers within the RSLPF, conceptualizing and working towards the goals and objectives of the Human Resource Department, will assist in creating an environment where the community will begin to have a positive perception of the RSLPF. These approaches will give rise to more competent and professional Police Officers within the ranks of the RSLPF. Officers will be trained and developed to function according to standards and expectations of the public and a modern Police Force. The process and procedure used in the recruitment and selection of Police Officers will be similar in nature to those of any other Government Ministry in terms of qualifications. More qualified persons will be attached to the force where they will be able to fully utilize their skills and talents within the organization, making the Police Force more professional, efficient and one, which has a good working relationship with the community.