RANKS of ‘A’ Division earlier this week began several Special Riot Training sessions in anticipation of having to deal with crowd control and unauthorised mass street protests.

The ranks which were drawn from several policing locations within ‘A’ Division, had their training in the Brickdam Station compound.
Yesterday this newspaper received information from sources close to training that the police were engaged in the activities.
Contacted yesterday ‘A’ Division Commander Clifton Hicken would only confirm that the training is in keeping with the standard operating procedures of the force, that is, ongoing training. Asked if the training was part of the Division’s plan to address election violence if the need should arise, Hicken firmly denied this.
“We don’t know that our training is geared specially for any elections. What we know is that we need to ensure that our ranks are continuously trained to deal with all occurrences and those training will be conducted in and out of any particular season” the Commander told the Chronicle.
This publication which made an announced visit to the Brickdam Police Station yesterday observed that close to 20 ranks were undergoing the training inside the Brickdam Police Station away from the public’s eyes. They were being supervised in their operations by Assistant Superintendent Anthony Vanderhyden, who is the Number 1 Sub-Division Officer (Brickdam) and Cadet Officer Anthony Austin, who oversees the operations of the Alberttown Police Station.
At yesterday’s session, the ranks were being schooled in the manning of plastic barricades which are usually carried by those in the frontline of riot operations. From what this publication observed, the ranks seem to have a fair understanding of what their roles on the streets are expected to be should they be called upon to engage in crowd control.
There have been several cases in the past where the police were accused of the use of excessive force and their inability to disperse disruptive crowds and gatherings.
Hicken’s only positive utterance to this publication which suggested that the officers were being trained to deal with election violence and unlawful assembly, was that whenever the police are called upon to engage in any riot-like operation there will be much professionalism on their part and that force will always be the last resort adopted by lawmen when engaging hostile crowds and gatherings.

(By Leroy Smith)