In recent years a number of parishes have struggled to recruit the minimum number of Centeniers, with St Saviour being fined £5,000 by the Royal Court in 2015 and warned again recently that it could be prosecuted if it does not appoint two officers soon.
Now, Mary O’Keeffe and Isabella Lewis have said that a review of the whole honorary police system needs to be conducted and they want to see Centeniers – who are required to prosecute criminal cases in the Magistrate’s Court – sit an exam and be paid for their work.
The pair, who say it would not be for them to decide a pay structure for officers, stood down from the St Saviour force earlier this year when they both stood for election as Deputy. Neither was successful in the election but they say they have not been able to reapply to join the force again since due to health problems.
‘The Centenier should be made into a qualification in its own right so there is a little bit more respect,’ Ms O’Keeffe said.
‘We have to present cases to the Magistrates in a professional way and we should have to sit an exam so people realise we are not just numpties having a go at it.
‘We can say this because we are now out of the honorary police but nowadays people cannot be expected to do a job like that and not get paid and I am really worried about the future of the honorary police.’
The former Centenier added that sole responsibility for the honorary police should come under the remit of the Attorney General with officers not having to report to their respective parish Constables as they do currently.
‘Sometimes I think the Constables do not actually understand the role. I think they are out of touch,’ she said.
‘One question I would ask them is “have you ever seen a whole case through from charging someone at the police station to preparing a case for charge, preparing a case for the Magistrate’s Court and then presenting it in a professional way?”. It is a lot of work.’
She added that if parishes continue to lose experienced officers at the current rate and are not able to replace them then the entire system could fail within three to four years.
‘They can choose to review everything and keep everything the same but if they do I put money on there not being any honorary police in three or four years, and that is really sad,’ she said.
‘Both of us are extraordinarily pro the honorary police and we would emphasise very strongly that it is such a fantastic experience.’
Mrs Lewis said that she did not know how the Island would cope if the honorary police – whose officers help the States police with major events, dealing with car crashes and curfew checks – ceased to exist.
‘I know that the States police have also reduced their force and they rely on us so much,’ she said. ‘If we were not around, I do not know how some things would be dealt with.
‘Saying that, we have fantastic support from them and we work really well together – especially with the training they give us on our foundation course.’
