Police Commissioner Vernon Francois
Saint Lucia played host to yet another exchange of 22 mountain specialists from the French Armed Forces. This two-way exchange was part of a collaborative effort between the Saint Lucia and Martinique.
At the closing ceremony last week, Police Commissioner Vernon Francois spoke about the relevance and timeliness of the training exercise.
“The training is very relevant to us as we move into our own Christmas and festive period where we expect our officers to increase on their operational policing,” Francois said.
“So, having gone through this training—both the officers who took part in St Lucia and those who did some of the training in Martinique—I’m hoping that will help in terms of improving on the ability of our officers to engage in higher level operational policing during the course of the Christmas period.”
In Martinique, the Saint Lucian officers took part in the island’s Remembrance Day activities. While in Saint Lucia, the French officers took part in an evacuation exercise near the Sandals beach.
Speaking at the ceremony, Consular at the French Embassy Antoine Simenel extended his gratitude to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Royal St Lucia Police Force.
“We are extremely pleased by the high level of cooperation and harmony between the French Armed Forces and the Saint Lucia counter parts from SSU. This has definitely been a very fruitful week and I would like to wish to our men a very safe trip back to their families in Martinique.”
Home Affairs and National Security Minister Philip LaCorbiniere said he hoped that the French and Saint Lucian authorities can co-operate a lot more in the future.
The exchange with the French Armed Forces facilitated the sharing of skills, knowledge and experience.