Abbreviation RSLPF Employees 1,045 | Formed January 4, 1999 Population 175,000 | |
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Legal personality Governmental: Government agency Size 238 square miles (620 km) | ||
Law enforcement in Saint Lucia is the responsibility of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF), which was founded in 1834.
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Organisation
The Commissioner of Police is Phillip Francois, who commands 947 police officers and civilian employees, in 14 police stations, who serve a resident population of 175,000.
The RSLPF maintains two paramilitary sub organizations; the Special Service Unit, and the Coast Guard, both units are responsible for internal security. Defense is the responsibility of Regional Security System. There is only one non-policing organization under the command of the RSLPF, the Immigration Service.
Police band
The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force includes The Royal Saint Lucia Police Band also known as The Band of the Royal St Lucia Police Force, which is a specialized department within the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force. The Band consists of Police Constables which specialize in Music and Arts.
Band members with the rank of Police Constable or higher are expected to conduct the duties and responsibilities of a regular Police Officer (Law Enforcement) with the exception of Band Cadets and Band Apprentices who are not sworn to oath.
Policing
In 2015 the Saint Lucia police stated that they were under-resourced, with not enough police officers to keep up with the crime case load.
Human rights
The Saint Lucia police have been accused of keeping death lists and carrying out extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals in an attempt to make St Lucia more attractive to tourists. Shootings by police took place in 2010 and 2011 during a security drive called Operation Restore Confidence, which was aimed at reducing violent crime and boosting tourism following the murder of a British tourist.
A report by independent investigators from the Jamaica Constabulary Force in 2015 claimed that officers from the Royal St. Lucia Police Force staged a dozen killings of suspected criminals. The police then reported the killings as murders committed by unknown assailants, planting weapons at the scene. In August 2013 the US government suspended assistance to the Saint Lucia police in light of rumours of the extrajudicial killings.