As the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) ramps up its aggressive, intelligence-led campaign to curb a rising tide of gun violence across the island nation, its acting Deputy Commissioner Junior Simmons is placing internal discipline at the forefront of the force’s broader public safety strategy, warning that the service cannot credibly fight crime while ignoring misconduct within its own ranks.
Speaking at a public press conference held in Kingstown, Simmons dedicated a substantial portion of his address to the critical role of good order, professional integrity, and strict accountability within the RSVGPF, framing robust internal discipline as the foundational pillar of both public trust and effective, community-centered policing. He emphasized that the public not only expects police to uphold law and order for all citizens, but also deserves full confidence that the officers tasked with enforcing the law meet the same strict standards they are required to impose on the community.
“An as organization, we cannot successfully combat widespread criminal activity if we turn a blind eye to unprofessional and illegal behavior among our own members,” Simmons told reporters. He went on to draw a direct causal link between public cooperation and consistent internal discipline, noting that for residents to come forward with sensitive information about illegal gun activity — a key tool for preventing and solving violent crime — they must first be certain that every officer upholds the ethical and legal rules the force is sworn to protect.
Simmons openly acknowledged that high-profile incidents in recent years have eroded public confidence in the RSVGPF, and that force leadership fully recognizes how these events have damaged community-police relations. Against this backdrop, he announced a renewed, force-wide focus on upholding professional standards, outlining four core areas that will see stricter enforcement moving forward: consistent adherence to good order and discipline, unwavering commitment to integrity and accountability, full compliance with existing standing orders and service regulations, and strict observance of established operational protocols in all day-to-day policing activities.
Rejecting the framing of internal discipline as a trivial administrative housekeeping task, Simmons positioned it as a non-negotiable prerequisite for effective crime fighting. “As police officers, we must lead by example. A stronger, more accountable police force is far better positioned to protect the public we are sworn to serve,” he stated.
Simmons drew a clear distinction between officers who consistently uphold professional standards and those who abuse their positions of public trust, offering a clear guarantee that officers who carry out their duties ethically and effectively will receive full, unwavering support from the force’s senior leadership. At the same time, he issued a stark direct warning to officers who misuse their authority, compromise active investigations, mishandle sensitive confidential information, engage in corrupt practices, or otherwise damage the public reputation of the RSVGPF: there will be clear, tangible consequences for this type of misconduct.
The acting deputy commissioner’s remarks on internal reform came during the same press conference where he and other RSVGPF leaders outlined a new, tougher, intelligence-centered strategy to counter rising gun violence across St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Simmons stressed that internal reform and external crime-fighting operations must go hand in hand to deliver sustainable results. He had previously noted that the force’s response to gun violence must be organized, intelligence-driven, and sustained, with officer deployments tied directly to mapped crime patterns and actionable intelligence, rather than relying on ineffective routine random patrols.
Even as the force adopts more aggressive tactics to tackle violent crime, Simmons made clear that rigorous, proactive policing does not justify indiscriminate or abusive conduct by officers. He insisted that all police operations must remain guided by the rule of law and respect for constitutional rights of all citizens. “Our officers will operate fully within the bounds of the law, respect the rights of every citizen, and maintain the highest possible standards of professionalism,” he said. “We will be firm and uncompromising with criminals, but always fair to law-abiding members of the public.”
Simmons directly tied the new push for stricter internal discipline to repairing and rebuilding the fractured relationship between the RSVGPF and the communities it serves, warning that without restored public trust, the force’s entire anti-crime strategy is at risk of failure. He reminded residents that the RSVGPF depends on community cooperation to reduce gun violence, as tips and information from the public are often the critical factor in preventing violent attacks or securing convictions for illegal gun offenses.
Reaffirming leadership’s awareness of past missteps, Simmons noted that previous incidents involving police officers have reshaped public perception of the force for many residents. “We know that there have been several incidents in the past that have caused you to look at us a different way, but we understand your concerns, and we ask you not to lose confidence in us because everybody needs the police. The police are the public, and the public are the police,” he told attendees at the press conference.
For Simmons, internal discipline is both a core internal obligation for every officer and a necessary response to legitimate public expectations. Internally, this requires all officers to strictly adhere to the RSVGPF’s existing standing orders, regulations, and operational procedures. Externally, it requires officers to act in ways that reinforce, rather than erode, public trust in the police as a law-abiding, impartial public institution.
Simmons’ call for stricter internal accountability comes as the RSVGPF as a whole rolls out expanded anti-violence operations across Kingstown and its surrounding areas, responding to a recent spike in gun-related crime. At the same press conference, Acting Commissioner Trevor “Buju” Bailey outlined other key elements of the new strategy, including zoning the capital city, increasing the presence of armed patrols in high-crime areas, and rolling out new forensic investigative tools to solve gun crimes faster.
Simmons’ new push for internal discipline fills a critical complementary role in the broader strategy: strengthening professional standards, boosting accountability, and rebuilding community engagement to ensure that the force’s new, tougher crime-fighting tactics do not come at the cost of public legitimacy. Repeating his core message, Simmons underlined that professional internal conduct is not a secondary side issue, but central to delivering sustained public safety for all residents of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. “It is when a police force is stronger that it is better positioned to protect the public that we serve,” he said.