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The Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) is responsible for law enforcement in
Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...
. The RGPF enforces
criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
,
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
, and
maritime law Admiralty law or maritime law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between priva ...
s. It is also held responsible for seaport security and
fire services A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
. With 14 police stations and over 940 staff members, the force responds to over 15,000 crimes and incidents per year. The Royal Grenada Police Force also has a
paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
force for national defense.


History

The RGPF dates back to 1853 as simply the Grenada Police Force. In 1854, the RGPF was based at
Fort George, Grenada St. George's (Grenadian Creole French: ''Sen Jòj'') is the capital of Grenada. The town is surrounded by a hillside of an old volcano crater and is located on a horseshoe-shaped harbour. St. George's is a popular Caribbean tourist destina ...
and supported by the Colonial Government of Grenada. The force grew slowly and by 1923, the police force had 92 soldiers. During the
People's Revolutionary Government The People's Revolutionary Government (PRG) was proclaimed on 13 March 1979 after the Marxist–Leninist New Jewel Movement overthrew the government of Grenada in a revolution, making Grenada the only socialist state within the Commonwealth. ...
's brief revolutionary era in the early 80s, the RGPF was known as the Grenada Police Service. During this period, the police lost virtually all of its authority and was forced to delegate many of its powers with the newly formed People's Revolutionary Army. Its headquarters under the leadership of Prime Minister
Maurice Bishop Maurice Rupert Bishop (29 May 1944 – 19 October 1983) was a Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of New Jewel Movement – a Marxist–Leninist party which sought to prioritise socio-economic development, education, and black liberation ...
was moved from Fort George (renamed by that time to Fort Rupert) to Melville Street on 24 May 1979. The name was reverted and the police headquarters returned to Fort George following in October 1983 following the military coup that was led by General Hudson Austin with the
United States invasion of Grenada The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, ...
. Prior to 1984, officers recruited into the force were trained at the Regional Police Training Centre in
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
. Between the 1905–1907, the National Band of Grenada was established in the RGPF as a
drum and bugle corps Drum and bugle corps is a name used to describe several related musical ensembles. * Drum and bugle corps (modern), a musical marching unit * Drum and bugle corps (classic), musical ensembles that descended from military bugle and drum units retu ...
. It was then called the Government Band, which comprised volunteers including tradesmen. On 1 August 1967, the band was renamed RGPF band having Mr. Switch De Couteau as its first Inspector of Police as
bandmaster A bandmaster is the leader and conductor of a band, usually a concert band, military band, brass band or a marching band. British Armed Forces In the British Army, bandmasters of the Royal Corps of Army Music now hold the rank of staff s ...
. Today, the RGPF is the sole law enforcement agency for the country. The RGPF is permitted up to 1,025 sworn members, however, currently only has 940 members. Approximately 14% of the force is female.


Departments

The RGPF has 18 distinct departments with different purposes. These departments include a fire department, police headquarters, a
prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...
department,
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
department, drug squad, police band,
coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
, training academy, traffic and transport department,
criminal records A criminal record, police record, or colloquially RAP sheet (Record of Arrests and Prosecutions) is a record of a person's criminal history. The information included in a criminal record and the existence of a criminal record varies between coun ...
office,
criminal investigation Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts that are then used to inform criminal trials. A complete criminal investigation can include searching, interviews, interrogations, evidence collection and preservatio ...
department, community relations department,
port police Transit police (also known as transport police, railway police, railroad police and several other terms) are specialized police agencies employed either by a common carrier (a transit district, railway, railroad, bus line, or any other mass tra ...
department, information technology unit, and a
special victims unit A Special Victims Unit (SVU) is a specialized division within some police departments. The detectives in this division typically investigate crimes involving sexual assault or victims of non-sexual crimes who require specialist handling such a ...
. Additionally, there is a department dedicated to providing security for the
Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...
, workplace and residence of the
Governor-General of Grenada The governor-general of Grenada is the vice-regal representative of the Grenadian monarch, currently King Charles III, in Grenada. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister of Grenada. The fun ...
and a Special Branch for diplomatic and other governmental security. Finally, there is a Special Services Unit for high profile cases.


Commissioners

* Stephen Bascombe (1969-1970) * R. King (1970-1971) * Rugent David (1971) * R.L. Barrow (1971-1973) * Nugent David (1973-1974) * Osbert James (1974-1975) * J. Usen (1975-1976) * Osbert James (1976) * Adonis Francis (1976) * Osbert James (1976-1978) * Anthony Bernard (1978) * Osbert James (1978-1979) * Raphael Stanislaus (1979) * James Clarkson (1979-1981) * A. B. Bernar (1981) * Major Ian St. Bernard (1981) * Major Patrick McLeish (1981-1983) * Fitzroy Bedeau (1995-2005) * Winston James (2015 - 2018) * Edvin Martin (2018-Present)


See also

*
Mongoose Gang The Mongoose Gang was a private army or militia which operated from 1967 to 1979 under the control of Sir Eric Gairy, the Premier and later Prime Minister of Grenada, and head of the Grenada United Labour Party. Officially, Mongoose Gang members we ...
, a quasi-independent branch which operated from 1967 to 1979 under the control of Sir
Eric Gairy Sir Eric Matthew Gairy PC (18 February 192223 August 1997) was the first Prime Minister of Grenada, serving from his country's independence in 1974 until his overthrow in a coup by Maurice Bishop in 1979. Gairy also served as head of governme ...
, the
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
and later
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
of
Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...
, and head of the
Grenada United Labour Party The Grenada United Labour Party (GULP) is a political party in Grenada. History The party was founded by Eric Gairy in 1950. It contested the first elections held under universal suffrage in 1951, and won six of the eight seats. Nohlen, D (2005) ...
.


References


External links

* Government of Grenada
Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...
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