Two firearms instructors from the Royal Anguilla Police Force are participating in training designed to strengthen armed policing capability across the UK’s Caribbean overseas territories.
The intensive eight-week ‘train the trainer’ programme is being delivered in Bermuda by the UK-based International Policing Assistance Service (IPAS).
Lead firearms instructor Inspector Edson Charles and chief firearms instructor Ralph Johnson completed the first phase of the training on 20 June.
This concentrated on core tactical principles associated with armed response vehicle deployments.
In a press release on 20 June, Commissioner of Police Robert Clark said: “This training is a vital investment in the future of armed policing in Anguilla and the wider region.
“It ensures our officers are equipped to deliver high-quality instruction and maintain the highest standards of public safety and professionalism.”
The programme focuses on enhancing the operational readiness and instructional capacity of armed officers in the region.
Instruction is being led by UK firearms subject matter experts with support from national firearms instructors from Police Scotland and Greater Manchester Police in the UK.
The training is being delivered to UK policing standards and has been tailored to meet the unique demands of policing in the overseas territories, the press release said.
It was developed in collaboration with police commissioners from across the UK’s overseas territories and aims to standardise firearms training and build sustainable in-house instructional capacity.
Officers from the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands are all participating and will return to their respective forces as certified trainers.
