Mottley: Police reform coming

A change is going to come to policing in Barbados.

That’s the word from Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, who on Wednesday night promised sweeping changes ahead for the Barbados Police Service.

Addressing the Ideas Forum at Alexandra School in Queen Street, Speightstown, St Peter, she outlined a broad reform agenda aimed at modernising operations, improving pay structures and strengthening the police’s capacity to meet the current crime challenges.

Mottley acknowledged that the police service, now more than 190 years old, must undergo significant transformation to remain effective in a rapidly evolving society.

She stressed that while it has a long and respected history, many of its systems and operating procedures were outdated and required urgent alignment with 21st century standards.

“We take for granted that we have a service that is 191 years old,” the Prime Minister said, adding that modernisation was not optional but essential. She added that in recent months she has been deeply engaged with key ministers and senior police officials to drive the restructuring process, describing it as a priority for her administration. A main component of the reform effort is addressing long-standing issues related to compensation and retention within the service. Mottley pointed to a critical decision taken about 18 months ago to regrade detectives and members of the Special Branch ahead of the wider public service review. This move, she explained, was necessary to stem the loss of experienced officers who were leaving investigative roles for uniformed positions due to disparities in pay.

She said a comprehensive regrading report for the entire public service is expected soon, after which consultations with unions will follow. She suggested that police officers, along with other essential workers such as nurses, have strong cases for improved compensation.

“We need to do better within the public service,” she admitted, while noting that fiscal constraints had previously limited the Government’s ability to act. According to her, stabilising the national economy was a prerequisite to ensuring that public sector workers could be paid fairly and sustainably.

Long-standing issues Beyond wages, Mottley highlighted structural weaknesses within the police service’s administration, particularly in areas that support its overall efficiency. She criticised the absence of key managerial roles, arguing that an entity with over 1 300 personnel could not function optimally without proper leadership in human resources and financial management.

“You can’t have an organisation of this size and not have a proper director of human resources. You can’t have a $200 million budget and not have a proper director of financial services.”

To address these gaps, she said Government has been working closely with police leadership to strengthen the corporate framework of the organisation.

Mottley also pointed to the increasing importance of technology in modern policing, indicating that upgrades in this area will play a critical role in improving operations and crime-fighting capabilities.

Another key component of the reform programme is the civilianisation of certain roles within the police service. This initiative, which has been reviewed at the National Security Council level, is intended to allow trained civilians to handle administrative and support functions, freeing up police officers to focus on frontline duties.

The Prime Minister thanked the British government for its assistance, revealing that a recently retired senior officer from Merseyside in the United Kingdom had been working with Barbadian authorities over the past nine months to help guide the transformation.

The restructuring effort extends to the geographic organisation of policing across the island. Mottley noted that the current system of magisterial and police districts dates back to 1956 and was no longer suited to Barbados’ present-day population distribution.

She pointed to stark disparities between districts, citing one area with approximately 100 000 residents compared to another with fewer than 10 000. Such imbalances, she argued, undermined effective policing and must be corrected through redistricting.

“That can’t work,” Mottley stated firmly, confirming that changes to district boundaries were underway.

Infrastructure development is also part of the Government’s plan to enhance policing. The Prime Minister announced that construction of a new police station at Six Roads, St Philip, will begin shortly, with another facility planned for Holetown in St James. Additionally, Government has identified a site for the relocation of the Black Rock Police Station, with negotiations for the land already in progress.

These projects, she said, are designed to improve accessibility, response times and overall service delivery to communities across the island. (BA)

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