News

The Government of Dominica has sought and will continue to create a safe and secure environment for nationals and visitors alike.

That assurance has come from the National Security Minister, Hon. Charles Savarin.

Minister Savarin's comments came when he addressed the nation during his Christmas day message on Tuesday December 25^th 2012.

The Minister took time to specifically mention partners such as Coast Guard and the Drug Squad, entities which have assisted significantly in combating the scourge of drugs on the island.

He said “The police with the aid of recently acquired assets from friendly development partners have been increasingly successful in combating drug and small arms trafficking, and human smuggling. The increased success of the Coast Guard, the Task Force, the Drug Squad and the SSU in that regard must receive special mention.”

Additionally the Minister said Government continues to place emphasis on providing the enabling environment as well as the necessary infrastructure to allow police officers to perform at their best.

In doing so the Minister explained that “Government continues to invest in developing the physical infrastructure and human resource base in support of the Police, recruitment aimed at maintaining the force at full strength is ongoing and officers are exposed to overseas training on a continuous basis: new Police station and Inspector’s quarters at Grand Bay have been recently completed, while construction of new police stations in LaPlaine and Calibishie is to commence in this financial year.

He said further that “A new state of the art Melville Hall Fire Station servicing the refurbished Melville Hall Airport and the surrounding communities is now in operation.”

Minister Savarin confirmed that the prison service has also been receiving some attention with much emphasis on being placed on skills training.

“The Prison Service is itself undergoing transformation with renewed emphasis on skills training and improvement in the structures at the prisons. Staffing requirements, equipment and training needs of prison officers are being reviewed to give greater focus to the rehabilitation of inmates”, he added.

Hon. Charles Savarin during his Christmas message to the nation also spoke of Dominica’s disaster management efforts highlighting that there has been a shift from event management to comprehensive disaster management.

The Minister said this new emphasis has seen an increased concentration at the community level in training and awareness building among local stakeholders.