Caribbean News
Police Commissioners Parade welcomes new vehicles, new recruits, awards long service officers & re-instates Officers
National Leaders Attend
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, December 19, 2022 – An armoured vehicle has finally arrived in the Turks and Caicos, it was part of the handovers at the Police Parade held at the Gustarvus Lightbourne Sports Complex on December 17th.
“I wish to acknowledge the presence of His Excellency Nigel Dakin, the Governor, Honorable Washington Misick, the Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Honorable Ministers of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government, the Deputy Governor, Invited Guests, my Force Executive colleagues, Assistant Commissioner Strachan and his team
from the Royal Bahamas Police Force, RTCIPF Police Officers and Staff Force, members of the public, media partners and those joining us via social media and on line; you are very welcome to this Commissioners parade, the first for a number of years.
I also acknowledge and welcome Father Douglas the RTCIPF Chaplain and Bishop Laish Boyd visiting from the Bahamas,” said Trevor Botting, TCI Police Commissioner in his remarks at the December 16 event.
The $400,000 vehicle is the first of two for the police and the government promises that they will ‘be an important tool in combating crime and broader national security.
“A Police Commissioner simply could not have asked for any more from a Government in terms of financial support to bring in Officers from our close cousins in the Bahamas, to the purchase vital equipment to assist in keeping our officers safe and the trust that we will do what was needed to restore security to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
You may have seen the new vehicle arrive on the parade square, a vehicle that will help our officers take the fight to the very front door of those who are seeking to terrorize our communities. Hon Premier, thank you for supporting the procurement of this vehicle, my officers will be exponentially safer for it and we are grateful.”
Along with the new vehicular additions, 14 new recruits were also at the ceremony as they prepared to go off for their
training in several weeks. In addition to that there will be 13 recalled officers joining the ranks, a significant increase to the Force’s numbers.
“Having reflected on this year, I want to look forward to 2023. As a Force we are developing our capability and capacity. We are investing in the leaders of the Force to enable them to better serve their teams and deliver a high quality Policing service to our communities, we are building our policing capability and capacity, including our intelligence capability, investing in our Investigation Team and our Tactical Unit, important functions in the prevention and detection of crime.
Our ambition to deliver a community policing model remains strong and our recent community events have demonstrated this, I expect this to expand and deliver even more during 2023.”
During the ceremony Long service awards and Queens Jubilee Medals were handed out to deserving officers in addition to that a cash prize was awarded to the officer who was considered to be the best turned out officer on parade,
“The parade today is a chance for me to do a number of things:
- Recognize officers who will receive long service medals,
- Acknowledge officers who will receive the Queens Jubilee Medal which will be issued later at Police Headquarters
- To thank our colleagues from the Royal Bahamas Police Force for their contribution to policing on the TCI
- Acknowledge members of the community who have shown outstanding support to the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force
- Say thank you to our civilian members of our Fantastic Police Band and;
- I will also be awarding a cash prize to the officer who I considered to be the best turned out officer on parade, a hard job for me to judge given the excellent turn out today.”
Police Commissioner, Trevor Botting used his speech to also address the people of the TCI. He described the events of the last quarter of the year as a ‘ferocious attack on human dignity.’ While acknowledging that he may not have always got things right he had ‘always sought to do the right thing to ensure the safety and security of our citizens and the safety and development of the hard working men and women of the Force’.
Adding, “The last four months has been tough but we have shown ourselves to be tough and uncompromising in our response. We have made progress but there is more to do and we are committed to doing it. I want to reassure our communities that we will remain on the front foot in tracking down and bring to justice those who seek to terrorize our communities.”
By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media
October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.
For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.
October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts
The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader,
led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.
The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.
Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.
The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.
October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit
Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.
The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.
“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”
The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.
Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”
“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”
A Pattern Emerging
While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.
In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.
Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.
Why It Matters
Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and
the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.
Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.
“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”
Restoring Balance
Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.
Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.
For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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