The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) is the agency responsible for law enforcement in

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

. It was founded in 1834.

Organisation

The Commissioner of Police is ''Crusita Descartes-Pelius'', who commands 957 police officers and civilian employees, in 14 police stations, who serve a resident population of 175,000. Each department or station is headed by a Superintendent of Police and an Assistant Superintendent of Police. The RSLPF maintains two paramilitary sub organizations; the

Special Service Unit The Special Service Unit (SSU) is a component of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). It functions as the special operations division of CDCR. The unit is staffed by Special agent, special agents assigned to fiel ...

, and the

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 ...

, both units are responsible for internal security. Defense is the responsibility of

Regional Security System The Regional Security System (RSS) is an international agreement for the defence and security of the eastern Caribbean region with future expansion planned with South America. History The Regional Security System was created in 1982 to counter ...

. There is only one non-policing organization under the command of the RSLPF, the ''Immigration Service''.

Police Band

The RSLPF includes The Royal Saint Lucia Police Band, which is a specialized department within the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force. The Band consists of Police Constables (PC and SPC), as well as Trainee and Supervising ranks who specialize in Music and Arts. The Band rank structure is that of the same as most units within the RSLPF. Most members hold the rank of Police Constable (PC and SPC) or above. These ranks carry out and conduct the duties and responsibilities of a State Commissioned Police Officer (Law Enforcement) with the exception being Band Cadets and Band Apprentices; both of which are trainee ranks not sworn to uphold the law by oath. The RSLPB has hosted bands such as the Hampshire Band and the

Royal Barbados Police Band The Barbados Police Service Band, previously known as the Royal Barbados Police Band part of the Barbados Police Service, has been a prominent musical group in Barbados since its foundation in 1889 and is one of the oldest police bands in the world ...

. It is revered as one of the best-uniformed marching bands in the

Eastern Caribbean The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS; French: ''Organisation des États de la Caraïbe orientale'', OECO) is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal ri ...

. It was founded on 18 June 1947 under the direction of Nathaniel Griffith and consisting of 6 policemen. Since its establishment, it has increased sevenfold to the size of 42, a number that includes 4 females. The Band are well known for performances at state events such as the Independence Day Parade in

Castries Castries is the capital and largest city of Saint Lucia, an island country in the Caribbean. The urban area has a population of approximately 20,000, while the eponymous district has a population of 70,000, as at May 2013. The city stretches o ...

and Remembrance Sunday celebrations.

Policing

In 2015 the Saint Lucia police stated that they were under-resourced, with not enough police officers to keep up with the crime case load.

Operation Restore Confidence

The Saint Lucia police have been accused of keeping death lists and carrying out extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals in an attempt to make St Lucia more attractive to tourists. Shootings by police took place in 2010 and 2011 during a security drive called ''Operation Restore Confidence'', which was aimed at reducing violent crime and boosting tourism following the murder of a British tourist. A report by independent investigators from the Jamaica Constabulary Force in 2015 claimed that officers from the Royal St. Lucia Police Force staged a dozen killings of suspected criminals. The police then reported the killings as murders committed by unknown assailants, planting weapons at the scene. In August 2013 the US government suspended assistance to the Saint Lucia police in light of rumours of the extrajudicial killings. In June 2021, the United States restored assistance to selected units of the RSLPF, such as the Immigration and Marine Units.

References

External links

Interpol webpage about Saint Lucia
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