CADET FORCE CAN BENEFIT FROM CLOSER RELATIONSHIP WITH RSVGPF
Minister of National Security, Disaster Management and Immigration Hon. Major St. Clair Leacock is adamant that the Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) can benefit from a closer relationship with the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Cadet Force (SVGCF).
In an Interview with the Agency for Public Information (API recently, Minister Leacock said that the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Cadet Force (SVGCF) and other cadet organisations in the region have helped to train many young people who have turned into successful and influential citizens.
Major Leacock stressed that the voluntary youth organization has been, for years, moulding young people aged 11 to 20, aiding in discipline, patriotism, and leadership.
He, however noted, that recently, he was misquoted when he spoke about integrating the Cadet Force into the national security fabric of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).
Major Leacock explained that what he envisions is that the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Cadet Force (SVGCF) can uplift their current program in a way that attracts the youths with different forms of training.
He said that recently when he mentioned giving Cadet officers powers of arrest, his words were misconstrued.
“To clarify the mischief that’s been created over the relationship between my statement and the Cadet Force, first of all, I was a former commandant of the Cadet Force and a beneficiary of Cadet training, and I was making a point…that the Cadet Act needs to be amended to have the Act giving the powers of arrest to the officers. I’m not talking about the rank-and-file young cadets themselves, I’m speaking about the officers…,” Minister Leacock said.,
“In Barbados, which is the parent organization that brought cadet to St Vincent…their Cadet Force is a part of their defence force, so they have a higher standing,” Major Leacock said.
He said that many cadets in Barbados are recruited in the army to serve when they finish in the Cadet Force.
Minister Leacock also mentioned several prominent Vincentians who were former cadets, including Governor General His Excellency Stanley Kendrick John, KC, Late Veteran Broadcaster Evans Bernard John and Late Lawyer Olin Dennie.