Fire And Police Personnel Receive Training In Arson Investigations
Police and fire personnel now have a stronger foundation in their examination of fire and arson cases.
This comes as 21 participants from local and regional emergency agencies took part in a fire and arson investigations course last week at the Regional Police Training Centre at Paragon.
“From a local perspective, we within the Royal Barbados Police Force have not been very successful in our investigation of fires,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Oral Williams, adding that this stemmed from a lack of skills and expertise in the investigation of such incidents.
“The lack of these skills has serious implications for a community. For one, when persons are able to intentionally set fires and are not identified and are not brought to justice, it engenders a confidence with the perpetrators and can act as a catalyst for repeated acts,” he stated on Friday evening during the closing ceremony.
He said fires often resulted in insurance companies having to make great payouts in loss to others, damage to adjacent properties, loss of employment and, at times, serious injury and death to persons.
“Whatever the outcome, it is a price we can ill-afford to pay in these trying economic times,” he said.
He remarked that in order for investigations into fires to be successful, there was the recognition that both fire and police personnel had to be able to effectively work together.
“The fire officers’ primary goal would be to rescue persons and extinguish the blaze. Police officers, on the other hand, come in on the back end to do the investigations, process the scene, collect evidence, have it analysed and present a case report where criminal intent exists.
“What the fireman does or does not do in his initial response can severely hamper the ability to complete a successful investigation,” he continued.
In addition, he stated that the joint training initiative would ensure that persons from both agencies were on the same page with regards to fire and arson investigations. (JMB)
Source: www.barbadosadvocate.com
This comes as 21 participants from local and regional emergency agencies took part in a fire and arson investigations course last week at the Regional Police Training Centre at Paragon.
“From a local perspective, we within the Royal Barbados Police Force have not been very successful in our investigation of fires,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Oral Williams, adding that this stemmed from a lack of skills and expertise in the investigation of such incidents.
“The lack of these skills has serious implications for a community. For one, when persons are able to intentionally set fires and are not identified and are not brought to justice, it engenders a confidence with the perpetrators and can act as a catalyst for repeated acts,” he stated on Friday evening during the closing ceremony.
He said fires often resulted in insurance companies having to make great payouts in loss to others, damage to adjacent properties, loss of employment and, at times, serious injury and death to persons.
“Whatever the outcome, it is a price we can ill-afford to pay in these trying economic times,” he said.
He remarked that in order for investigations into fires to be successful, there was the recognition that both fire and police personnel had to be able to effectively work together.
“The fire officers’ primary goal would be to rescue persons and extinguish the blaze. Police officers, on the other hand, come in on the back end to do the investigations, process the scene, collect evidence, have it analysed and present a case report where criminal intent exists.
“What the fireman does or does not do in his initial response can severely hamper the ability to complete a successful investigation,” he continued.
In addition, he stated that the joint training initiative would ensure that persons from both agencies were on the same page with regards to fire and arson investigations. (JMB)
Source: www.barbadosadvocate.com
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