Find time to celebrate life!

Attorney General, Adriel Brathwaite, implored the rank and file of the Royal Barbados Police Force to celebrate life while there was still time.

He was at the time addressing an awards ceremony at Solidarity House, which saw over 100 police officers being recognised under the theme: Committed to the Highest Quality Service in Partnership with our Community. The event also followed a weekend during which the lawmen, lost two members from within their ranks.

???You have lost two colleagues within the last two days; I lost a 15-year-old son on Monday. But, what this tells us is that whilst we have life we should find opportunities to celebrate and to recognise significant milestones in our lives??? Let the death of your colleagues signal to you that as an organisation, we must celebrate while we can. We will not always agree but as a whole, this country depends on us to make it the paradise that it is,??? Mr. Brathwaite said.

The Attorney General then called on Acting Commissioner of Police, Tyrone Griffith, and management of the Force to allow Sunday???s awards to be the start and to signal a continuation of the process where officers are awarded annually for going beyond the call of duty.

Mr. Brathwaite said he recognised that while others were asleep, lawmen were putting their lives on the line. ???I [also] recognise that you are called upon to be brothers, fathers, sisters, husbands, wives, counsellors, community practitioners, pastors, and still spend eight to 12 hours a day doing your duty as police officers. In a sense you are never off duty,??? he noted.

However, he urged lawmen across the country to ensure that they did what was required to protect their health, to enhance their ability to continuing doing their jobs and to ensure that their time on earth was as long as it could be.

???I recognise the pressures of work and other pressures sometimes lead you to not live the best life physically, but we need to take some time and recognise that if we don???t look after ourselves we can???t look after others,??? he emphasised.

The Attorney General was supported in his comments by Acting Commissioner of Police, who also called on lawmen to focus more attention on health and wellness issues ???given the apparent nature of the recent deaths???.

???Our resident nurse has been making a great impact, but we ourselves have to do more, given the stressful nature of our job,??? he stated.

julia.rawlins-bentham@barbados.gov.bb

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