Wednesday, June 28, 2006

A team of eleven new officers for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service were honoured at a special graduation ceremony at Governor's House. PC Gabriel Rabess was one new recruit to receive a special award from H.E the Governor Stuart Jack. Photo by Suzanne Livingston


Officials in attendance: L-R Hon George McCarthy, Chief Secretary; Stuart Kernohan, Police Commissioner; Deputy Commissioners Rudolph Dixon and Anthony Ennis

On 3 June 2006, four months of rigorous training in law relating to theft, burglary, robbery, traffic and General Police law, as well as training in self-defence and First Aid, officially came to an end for an eleven-member Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) recruit team.

It was only the second RCIPS group to go through, and complete recruit training since Hurricane Ivan disrupted the rhythm of these programmes in 2004.

In the graduates' honour, H.E the Governor, Stuart Jack, along with the Police High Command, hosted an open-air graduation ceremony on that afternoon.

The event was simple, with the unmistakable air of the constabulary pervading the proceedings.

The graduates' long-sleeved officers' white jackets looked splendid complete with equally immaculate gloves. They smartly matched the clear afternoon's sunlight, the shiny leaves in the green-garden setting on the Governor's lawn, and, the stately backdrop of the Islands' Official white mansion.

Some new officers were smiling, some showed faint signs of nervous tension, but every one of the eleven faces, at one point or another, beamed with pride.

Whether it was the diminutive PC 107 Ondine Bult - who almost forgot her hat as she jumped, in surprise, from her seat, moving into a quick-march to the platform, when her Officer in Charge of Training, Inspector Daniel Lee, announced her award as the Best Academic Student of the team; or, the six-footer valedictorian PC 316 Gabriel Rabess, whose name was called more often than even he expected for Special Awards, it was an afternoon event on which graduates left their individual marks.

Commissioner of Police, Stuart Kernohan, presented all graduates with their certificates and told them, in his address, that they had "proven" themselves "both mentally and physically fit for one of the most difficult jobs there is."

He however also added that policing is demanding, and, at the same time, rewarding.

The Commissioner underscored that "good policing" was more than adequate training and "cutting-edge technology."

He told the graduates that their future success, and failure, as officers would depend on more than how well they enforced the law.

He said that success in the field required a "partnership between the police and the community. The premise of this partnership is that you trust and respect the citizens you serve."

In his address, Inspector Lee recognised the family, friends and officers, who gave support to the new officers while they tried to "reach their goal of passing out of the Basic Recruit Training."

He cautioned the officers about the standards that would be expected of them and said, "These Officers will be expected to maintain a high level of discipline while exercising their Oath of Office."

In the group, PC Bult - born in England but a four-year resident in Cayman, formerly working in the telecommunications field - had two other female counterparts; PC 301 Juliet Carty, formerly in the hospitality industry at her home in Jamaica and, PC 331 Rosa McLean-Hernandez, who was born on Cayman Brac and was formerly employed in the retail trade.

The rest of the graduating group included PC 164 Kevin Barnes - a Jamaican-born, four-year resident of Grand Cayman, formerly involved in the construction industry; PC 330 Donovan Chong - a Jamaican-born, five-year resident of Grand Cayman, formerly employed with the Jamaican police force; PC 256 David McKay - a Canadian-born, seven-year resident of Cayman, formerly employed as a dive instructor; PC 106 Kingslyn Mitchell - raised in Cayman, educated in the United States and returned home in 1997 to work as paramedic; PC 230 Lazarus Moraes - a resident here for 12  years, who was formerly employed in the hospitality industry; PC 197 Fernando Soto - a Honduran here for 8 years, with three of those years spent as a Police Auxiliary; and, PC 216 Alton Williams - Caymanian-born, who spent some years in the banking industry prior to this. Recipient of the most awards, PC Rabess, served in the London Fire Service before coming here four years ago to work in the physical education field.

Mr Jack distributed the Special Awards for Best and Second-Best Academic Student, Best Turnout, Best Drill, Best Physical Education, Most Improved Recruit and the Training Commander Award.

suzanne@caymannentnews.com

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