Police Association On Overseas Recruiting Plans
At this time the Bermuda Police Association “only supports overseas recruiting for frontline policing” as “hiring specialists as direct entries will block current locally employed officers from progressing in their careers,” the BPA Chairman said.
This follows after Minister of National Security Michael Weeks announced that Cabinet has approved almost $2 million in additional funding to the Bermuda Police Service which “will allow the Police to recruit twenty additional officers.”
Minister Week said, “This recruitment will require the Bermuda Police Service to advertise both locally and overseas. Considering the immediate qualifications and experience required for some of the posts, overseas officers will be among those recruited. I have emphasized to the Commissioner, and I am confident in his full support of the Government’s position, that we must cultivate and train local officers concurrent with the engagement of any overseas talent.”
Bermuda Police Association Chairman Anton Gilbert said, “The Bermuda Police Association has been informed overseas recruiting is being pursued by the Bermuda Police Service in 2023 for specialist detectives and firearms officers.
“At this time the BPA only supports the overseas recruiting for frontline policing. Persons recruited should be for basic training as uniform police officers. These officers can then compete for specialists opportunities within the BPS. Hiring specialists as direct entries will block current locally employed officers from progressing in their careers.
“The BPS needs to invest in the future of currently serving officers and this can only be done if recruiting is done to backfill the front line policing posts. We understand that the demand exceeds supply locally for policing as a career but that does not mean bring in specialists.
“The hiring of a basic frontline Police Officers is a model that has worked in the past and has allowed for a positively competitive work environment. We hope to see robust training and succession planning within the BPS because hiring direct entry specialist is not an effective long term solution to our current shortages.”
Our best training officer was a chap by the name of Sgt. Scotland . He was training officer to Blackwatch pass officers known as Queens guard…if you have somehow achieved to get another i will certainly agree. Lately i cannot besmearch nor speak highly for them overall but to say that outside influence can be good…as long as service records overseas meet or exceed requirements to be as highly trained as Sgt. Scotland…just putting that out there.Thanks.
Are you talking Regiment or Police Ensign.
Actually Canada is thinking of recruiting Bermudian potential police recruits, giving PRC status to successful persons …See we can’t get police persons to come in and sign up.