ACTING Deputy Commissioner of Police Oral Williams has admonished law enforcement officers to be careful and conscious when executing duties in light of social media.
Williams was speaking at the closing ceremony of the maritime operations and planning course yesterday where he addressed participants from the Royal Barbados Police Force, Barbados Defence Force and the Barbados Coast Guard.
Recently, members of the public have been posting videos of police officers carrying out various operations. Some people have heavily criticised the treatment of people by policemen.
“I want members of the forces to be careful and be conscious of what you do and what you say when you go on your operations.”
He made them aware that video evidence, “once properly done”, could be admitted in court.
He said the clips are mainly ten or 20 seconds and often did not show the before and after.
However, he said he had the responsibility of looking into complaints made against members of the force and he wanted them to be civil in their approach, be professional and exercise restraint.
“Once you follow these, you can’t go wrong,” he said.
“You have a reputation to uphold not only in dealing with members of the public, but as a country and as an institution in the region,” Williams added. (TS)
