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Institutional Challenges Affecting the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force and Inhibiting Effective Police Service Delivery

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Abstract

The chapter critically explores how the rise in violent crime in the Eastern Caribbean island of Saint Lucia has exposed the historic and contemporary deficiencies of the police institution, which helps in explaining the poor quality service delivery and the dissatisfaction of citizens. Of particular significance in understanding this outcome is a culture of poor institutional leadership and supervision, the widespread acceptance of work avoidance, absenteeism, and sexism inter alia which results in the policing needs of women being devalued. The chapter illustrates how this cycle of deficiency helped to create the conditions for a politically inspired campaign of extra judicial killing which occurred in the context of an unprecedented spike in violent crime. One of the preconditions for the campaign of extra judicial killings in the lead up to the general election is the institutional weakness of the Commissioner of Police, which appears deliberate and historic in character in ensuring they protect the interest of the government and ruling party. The chapter utilises institutional theory to elucidate the origins, function, and meaning of important organisational practices within the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force that have become institutionalised and contributes to its dysfunctional character. It goes on to demonstrate how this dysfunction had a direct impact in weakening the crime-fighting capabilities of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Thomas’ novel graphically describes how the career progression of Caribbean police leaders is intrinsically related to political patronage and politicians expectations that their largess is repaid with loyalty.

  2. 2.

    Many respondents reported their belief the most amount of violence experienced by women came at the hands of police officers, and gave graphic examples of incidents witnessed or they were aware of. One of the reasons given for the police disinterest in the case of the woman cited was that she was not particularly sexually appealing due to her injuries. The belief that police officers seek sexual favours in order to carry out their duties or abuse their office for sexual favours is a widespread and strongly held one. The demands and exchange of sexual favours, from women largely, but not exclusively, are common in St Lucia (CPA 2005–2006: 24) and a product of the historical degradation of black women rooted in slavery, which has been internalised by black men.

  3. 3.

    While a member of Bedfordshire Police the writer was familiar with the organisation’s vehicle repair shop and the average amount of vehicles that could be seen there at any time. However, the amount of police vehicles in the RSLPF repair shop was staggering, especially given the comparatively small size of the island compared to the county of Bedfordshire which suggested that there was something very wrong.

  4. 4.

    The authors report a meeting held in 2004 attended by the government ministers responsible for criminal justice matters, The Attorney General’s Chambers, judges and all other key legal stakeholders which unanimously agreed that the criminal justice system was dysfunctional.

  5. 5.

    The very high figures for those who fear becoming victims of violence it is suggested reflects to some degree the collective anxieties such crimes cause in small societies, where victims are generally not strangers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rabdan Academy, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Perry Stanislas

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  1. Perry Stanislas
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Correspondence to Perry Stanislas .

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  1. Pace University, New York, NY, USA

    James F. Albrecht

  2. Walden University, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Garth den Heyer

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Stanislas, P. (2021). Institutional Challenges Affecting the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force and Inhibiting Effective Police Service Delivery. In: Albrecht, J.F., den Heyer, G. (eds) Enhancing Police Service Delivery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61452-2_16

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