The Barbados Police Service (TBPS), previously called the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF), is the

law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...

in Barbados, as established under the Police Act, Cap. 167. Richard Boyce is currently Commissioner of the Police. TBPS is divided into five operational divisions: the Northern Division, Southern Division, Bridgetown Division, Criminal Investigations Division and Operations Support Division. These are supported by the Administrative Services Division The organisational structure of the TBPS is modelled after

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's Metropolitan Police Service. In recent years, a growing number of Barbadian police officers have been recruited to take up jobs in the

Bermuda Police Service The Bermuda Police Service is the law enforcement agency of the British Overseas Territory and former Imperial fortress of Bermuda. Overview The BPS is responsible for policing the entire archipelago, including incorporated municipalities, ...

History

The main Police Force of Barbados was established in 1835. Soon after its founding the Police Force informally had

mounted police Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. Their day-to-day function is typically picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and increasingly in th ...

men, however in 1880 an actual mounted division was recognised and known as the Mounted Corps. (later renamed the Mounted Branch in 1933.) In 1882, the Harbour Police Force was unified with the main land division after it had been established separately in 1867. Roughly 100 years later in the 1980s the Harbour Police unit was dissolved entirely. The prefix "Royal" was added to the title of the Police Force in February 1966 during a visit to Barbados by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, which was retained until November 2021, becoming part of the name and identity of the force in the interim. In 1981, the Royal Barbados Police Force became a full member of the

International Criminal Police Organization The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

(Interpol). In 2021, the name The Barbados Police Service was selected to be the new name for the Royal Barbados Police Force and replaced the old name when Barbados became a republic on November 30, 2021. The name was selected to reflect the removal of the Queen as head of state and as stated by the Minister of Legal Affairs Dale Marshall, "...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 centered on brawn and force".

Organisation

The headquarters for TBPS is in the former Barclays Bank Complex on Lower Roebuck Street, Bridgetown, Saint Michael.Police offices moving to Roebuck St.
/ref> The headquarters houses the Commissioner of Police; the Deputy Commissioner of Police; the offices of all assistant commissioners of police; all staff officers of the above commissioners; the secretary to the Commissioner of Police; the Research and Development Department; the Police Registry; and the Office of Compliance.

Ranks

These insignia were amended, removing

St Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the coronation crown of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13t ...

and replacing it with the

Coat of Arms of Barbados The coat of arms of Barbados was adopted on 14 February 1966, by a royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II. The coat of arms of Barbados was presented by the Queen to the then President of the Senate of Barbados, Sir Grey Massiah. Like other for ...

as country became a

republic in the Commonwealth of Nations The republics in the Commonwealth of Nations are the sovereign states in the organisation with a republican form of government. , 36 out of the 56 member states were republics. While Charles III is the titular Head of the Commonwealth, the King ...

on 30 November 2021.

Locations

District Police Stations: *Saint Michael **District "A" station ** Black Rock ** Bridgetown Port **Court Prosecutors **

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

(Saint Michael/Christ Church) *Christ Church **

Oistins Oistins (Pronounced /'ȯis-tins/ -- UN/LOCODE: BB OST) is a coastal area located in the country of Barbados. It is situated centrally along the coastline of the parish of Christ Church, and is the parish capital. The area includes a fishing villag ...

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

*Saint George/Christ Church **District "B" station *Saint Philip/Saint John **District "C" station *Saint Thomas **District "D" station *Saint Peter **District "E" station *Saint Joseph **District "F" station *Saint James **

Holetown Holetown (UN/LOCODE: BB HLT) is a small city located in the Caribbean island nation of Barbados. Holetown is located in the parish of Saint James on the sheltered west coast of the island. History In 1625, Holetown (formerly as St. James Town ...

*Saint Andrew **

Belleplaine Belleplaine is a village in the parish of Saint Andrew in Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of ...

*Saint Lucy ** Crab Hill Motto: To protect, serve and reassure.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

The Barbados Police Service

History of Police forces in BarbadosRegional Police Training Centre
(RPTC)
Crime Stoppers Barbados
{{Navboxes , list = {{Barbados topics {{police {{Caribbean topic, Law enforcement in {{Americas topic, Law enforcement in Law enforcement in Barbados Government of Barbados Law enforcement in the Caribbean 1835 establishments in Barbados Government agencies established in 1835 Law of Barbados