‘Auxiliary police would help ease burden’

THE founder of Prayer Warriors International Fellowship, Pastor Courtney Selman, is advising Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite, and Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith, to consider looking at the Auxiliary police model in New York, with a view of adopting it, to help curb the issue of crime in Barbados.

Selman suggested that such a programme has the potential to take the load off the already busy Police Officers.

“They are already saddled dealing with crimes and other maladies. I believe that a unit of Auxiliary police will help exponentially with the problems in schools, as I understand that the Barbados Police Force do not have the adequate resources or manpower to do so at this time. I am hopeful that there are enough patriotic car dealers in Barbados who would be willing to give cars to be used for such a purpose and plan,” he said.

Selman made the recommendation yesterday, as he delivered remarks at the Barbados Prison Fellowship’s Carrington Village, St Michael, headquarters, where Prayer Warriors International presented four weed-whackers to the Prison Fellowship.

Selman said he knows first-hand that the programme will be successful if adopted by Barbados, since he volunteered as an Auxiliary Police with the City of New York, working out of the 88 Precinct, downtown Brooklyn. He said in order to qualify; he attended a three-month long training course in the art of policing matters, before walking the streets of Brooklyn or driving the “Auxiliary Police Car”.

“We walked the streets in twos. We were called the ears and eyes of the police. We dressed in the same clothing as the police, we carried a baton and hand cuffs. The only difference is that we did not carry guns. We had our own police cars. We were involved with the community outreach programmes,” he said.

Selman offered to work with the Attorney General, and Commissioner of Police, and other relevant authorities, to look at the possibility of introducing the programme in Barbados. (AH)