A batch of 30 Barbados Police Service officers marked a milestone in their professional development on Friday as they graduated from the Police International Middle Management Training Programme — a two-week leadership course delivered in partnership with a police force from the north-east of England.
Their achievement was celebrated at a closing ceremony held on the grounds of the Regional Police Training Centre (RPTC) at Seawell. The course is designed to build stronger, people-centred leadership within the island’s policing framework.
Head of UK and International Training with the Durham Constabulary, Chief Inspector Kevin Salter, urged the graduating officers to resist slipping back into old habits when they return to their stations.
“When you leave this room, you face a choice,” he said. “The easy option is to return to doing the things you’ve always done, but as we’ve discussed throughout the course, if you continue to do the same things, then we’re always going to get the same results.”
Chief Insp. Salter encouraged the graduates to take what they had learned and become catalysts for organisational change.
“Our challenge to you, our plea to you, is to go back to your teams and make a positive difference. Put what you have learned into practice, influence, inspire, lead, help shape an organisation that provides the highest standards of policing for the people of Barbados. You were chosen for this course for a reason. You’ve been identified as individuals capable of driving change.”
He also shared a deeply personal story illustrating the lasting impact supervisors can have on their officers. He recalled a former colleague, Gavin Smith, whom he had mentored early in his career.
“One day Gav came to work unwell. Within 24 hours he was diagnosed with an aggressive terminal illness,” the chief inspector recounted. “The night before he died, he wanted to thank me for believing in him during the moments when he struggled to believe in himself.”
He said the experience reminded him that leadership goes far beyond paperwork and instructions. “The people you lead will remember you not for the forms you’ve signed, not for the instructions you’ve given, but how you’ve made them feel … and for the guidance you offered when the path seemed unclear.”
Superintendent Stephen Herbert also addressed the graduates, stressing that strong leadership is the backbone of any successful police service.
“The TBPS has been built on policies and procedures implemented by prudent leaders. Leadership, therefore, is critical to the sustainability and success of any organisation,” he said.
Supt. Herbert underscored that no leader can succeed without a firm moral compass.
He said: “Honesty and integrity are two important ingredients which make a good leader. Your word must stand for something, because if it doesn’t, then the people who you aspire to lead will have no confidence in you.”
(SB)
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