The Barbados Police Service (BPS) is losing officers at a time when it continues to be challenged to find enough recruits to join its ranks.Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce conceded that this decrease in strength is made no better by the service’s inability to get close to its 1500-strong target.“Speaking of scarce resources, the organisation continues to be negatively impacted by its inability to satisfy existing recruiting needs. It must be noted that the underlying issue is not attributable to low levels of interest in the organisation, but to the continued challenge by some of the applicants to satisfy our recruiting criteria,” Boyce explained.Reporting to the Annual Grand Conference of the service on Wednesday at District ‘A’ Police Station, Station Hill, St Michael, Boyce disclosed that numbers in the organisation fell in 2022.“The strength of the organisation continues to decrease as time goes on. The establishment of the police service is 1,530. In 2022, the number of enlisted officers was 1,215, while in 2021 the figure stood at 1,234. This is a two per cent decrease in enlisted officers,” the police chief announced.“However, on the positive side, 48 special constables added strength to the organisation, along with the support of 325 civilian staff members,” the top cop added.Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Dale Marshall also touched on the issue in his address to the conference saying the recruitment drive was a top priority for the Commissioner.
