The Royal Barbados Police Force will be called the Barbados Police Service under the republic.
On Tuesday, during debate on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the House of Assembly, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Dale Marshall gave the new name saying it would “no longer be the police force of the Queen” but “our country”.
“Cabinet has agreed, and this Constitution provides that the Royal Barbados Police Force will become the Barbados Police Service. That is what it will be called.
“And there are two elements to this: One, we had to get rid of the royal anyway but two, and I say this as Attorney General, the police force as it is now and as we want it to be in the future, has to be more than the notion of brute strength, a force pushing against people and pushing against objects because policing has long ago stopped being centred on brawn and force.
“And therefore, as we build out a police force dealing with IT and cybercrime and money laundering, a whole set of things which have nothing to do with your ability to kick and cuff and defend yourself, we recognise that the concept of a police service is more in keeping with the modern image of our police officers,” he said.
Earlier this month, while addressing Barbadians in diaspora during an online forum on the proposed republic, he said the names of some organisations, such as the Royal Barbados Police Force, would be changed.
Marshall, the parliamentary representative for St Joseph, also told Parliament that as the country goes through the process of changing to a republic, there are statutes that need to be changed, primarily those with reference to the Governor General and the word “royal”, but all would not be done now. As such, a mechanism to allow for those changes would be implemented.
He explained: “In this amendment bill we provide that the president, can by order over the period of the next three years – so we don’t have to come back to Parliament . . . , acting on the advice of her ministers, will make amendments to all of the other pieces of legislation and regulations and rules where the Governor General is referred to and the concept of the crown, when in truth and in fact we want to refer to a president and the concept of the state.” (GBM)
