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Police officers here have been asked to take greater care of Government vehicles entrusted to them to carry out their duties.

National Security Minister, Hon. Charles Savarin during an interview with the Government Information Service (GIS) on Friday said in recent times Government has invested a significant amount of resources in providing the police with vehicles to carry out their functions and these vehicles must be taken care of.

“There is a high degree of wear and tear and we sometimes feel that not all of it is justified and we urge the police that they should take greater care of the vehicles which are provided to them. They are being provided at significant cost to the people of Dominica and they should be used primarily for police work and that even when they are being used for police work it’s not drag races that we have so that just as the police can pull someone over for not driving with due care and attention, the police themselves need to be exemplary drivers and to show road courtesy when moving on the roads,” the Minister explained.

Minister Savarin noted that while all of the police stations on the island have been outfitted with police vehicles, replacement vehicles are not readily available, hence the need for officers to exercise greater responsibility when using Government vehicles.

“Those persons in the security services who are given charge of Government vehicles have a responsibility to use those vehicles with due care and attention. If a particular police station has one vehicle and that vehicle is off the road for a period of time there may not be replacement vehicle readily available, therefore that station is handicapped in carrying out its functions and is unable to respond to requests for assistance from members of the public.”

Minister Savarin stated further that “Police vehicles are essential in policing and should be treated as such, so that as much as possible we can always have…all police stations and units equipped with vehicles”.

Recently the Government of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) committed to provide the Dominica Police force with 90 motorcycles to assist in patrolling the islands’ streets.

Minister Savarin said this must be appreciated.

“Just a couple of days ago we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese to provide ninety (90) motorcycles. I am hopeful that we will instruct users and supervise the use of those motorcycles so that one does not get the impression that the police motorcycles are for racing. What the motorcycles should do is to assist us to cover a wider area than would be possible with the limited four wheeled vehicles that we have,” Savarin remarked.

The National Security Minister has assured the nation that in 2013 Government will continue to work to create a safe and secure environment for nationals and visitors alike. He said Government will continue to invest in the development of  the physical infrastructure and human resource base in support of the island’s police.