 Hi and welcome to a special edition of issues and answers with me Elvis Thomas acting assistant superintendent of police With me this morning is constable number six nine four Travis Chico who is the president of the police welfare Association good morning. Mr. Chico. Good morning. Thank you for coming and being a guest issues and answers I see you smiling already. So you have quite a few good things in store for us Now I just said that you from the police welfare association and tell us a little bit about the police welfare association What what is it all about? Okay? Well the police welfare association is basically an association staff association Which would represent the interests of members in the police the Royal Central Police Force the Association is very distinct from the operations of a trade union and One of our key or one of our major functions as an association is to really is to really It's really push the agenda of the organization in total. So what's a union? Maybe stuff stuff stuff aligned The welfare association is organization oriented in terms of dealing with the issues faced by the organization Okay, so when did you become the president of the association? I became the president of the welfare association on the 15th of March 2007 2007 yes or 2017 And how has it been for you it has been A Smooth sailing period with a few issues that we would have to we would look into as an organization I'm as the welfare association when I came in and there were a few challenges that We inherited from past executives and executives and some of them that we've dealt with and some of them That we open that in the not too distant future We could bring them to a conclusion But the welfare association generally has really met one of its major Objectives which is to ensure that police officers remain productive and to ensure that our officers are efficient and Could read and to reduce wastage in the organization So it's been a struggle. Well, we advocate for for for sorry We are doing it advocate for working conditions, but based on the constitution of of the welfare association in Section 40 of the police act and Subsection 2 would have spoke with and speaks to police or the welfare association Remaining an association that would look into the effective running of the Royal Sanction police force So having having said said this when did this police welfare association start? Well, the police welfare association Commenced in 1969. However as the years Has gone by there's been a lot of evolving of the welfare association Going on the days when a welfare association would have had one representative would just look into the General running of the organization, but they buy then the organization was a very small organization But now you have a fully a fully a fully staffed Executive which would have encompassed the president a vice president a treasure secretary Assistant secretary assistant treasurer and the PR and also an assistant PR The welfare association also has what what is called brunch board. So we represent from the ranks of constables as far as inspectors So the welfare association has representatives on each of the bodies. So you would have five men from the Sergeant five five from the con and corporals five from the Inspectors and seven from the constables, which would have been the biggest pool in the membership of the organization So it is actually the welfare association's first function actually starts at the brunch boards level In terms of selecting persons at brunch board level to represent the rank on the central executive of the police welfare association You just mentioned that representation is made only up to the rank of inspector Yes, what happens? With the rank of inspect above well above the rank of inspector. It is with the public service commission. However They have been talks in terms of having what we call a gazetted branch board where the welfare association I would have encompassed gazetted officers from the ranks of Assistant superintendents to acting to assistant commissioner of police where these men would have elected on themselves Somebody would represent them on central committee and the central committee who would look into issues Issues surrounding the ranks that they are represented that they are in so would that be in keeping with the police act that you mentioned We would have to write to the governor general through the commission of police so that we can make an amendment in the police act that would have So that would constitute the forming of such a branch board And do you have an office where you operate from and what really happens there? Yes I'm the welfare association has a police welfare secretary at and what happens at the secretary at is that um, we run a number of Programs at the at the at the secretary at so we have our police distress fund our police scholarship fund We also have our magical police magic police welfare magical health insurance And of late we've opened what we call the police welfare association fund Which would look into the daily running of of the welfare association itself So there are a number of other initiatives that we hoping in the north not not too far from now that we could actually look upon in terms of how well we could Maintain The interest of our members in terms of whether we look at assisting them in in some of our financial challenges financial issues So the welfare association has a number of Items on its on its agenda and we open that with time maybe Continuity from non-executive to the next that by within 20 by 2025 We would have gotten our proper mandate and staffing in terms of really representing the interests of our members You mentioned four areas here, and I would really like to to touch on them The first one we will do is the distress fund So you can speak about it briefly. We may not we may come back to it after the break So you can speak to the distress one is often it was set up by then commissioner covered Phillips And what will intention of that fun is to really assist police officers with distress So after hurricanes and during the time of death You have persons who may have suffered a house fire natural disasters So that's where the police welfare association distress one would come in to really Assist those members in in in bringing them back on on the feet So the distress one is is really managed by the commission of police was the chair and the welfare Association has members on that committee to really look into some of the applications that we receive the distress one piece so far for parents of police officers who would pass and also the children of police officers and We also look at medical issues where persons genuinely need Assistance the welfare association would come in and chip in something something small The fund is not the healthiest of all because the numbers have grown and why the numbers grow You have we have a bigger payout and the contribution remains the same So we're also looking to go back into the rules of such a The fund and hoping that through the commission of police was chair that we could increase It's like not really making it a building on the pockets of our officers But to really show them the disparity of what they are paying now and what they can't be and the increases or Other other greater functions that the fund can serve in terms of assisting them Thank you very much. Mr. Chico for now We have been listening to a special edition of issues and answers with me Elvis Thomas acting assistant superintendent of police And my guess constable six nine four Travis Chico who is the president of the police welfare Association will be right back I noticed that you built your retaining wall on my property You'll have to give me my land back or compensate me for that my contractor isn't dumb I trust that he will not build anything on your property. Where is your proof? Let's go to court this situation does not require you to go to court looks like we have to go through mediation here Mediation is a way people resolve conflicts like this someone a third party comes to speak to both parties This person is called the mediator the mediator is impartial He or she makes sure that communication between both parties is effective and efficient So the mediator is a judge. No, the mediator is not a judge Mediators unlike judges do not decide cases or impose settlements Let me get a mediator to handle this retaining wall and that kitchen Kitchen yes, your kitchen also falls on my land. Let me call the mediator You have been watching a special edition of issues and answers with me Elvis Thomas acting assistant superintendent of police and my guest Mr. Travis Chico constable number six nine four President of the police welfare association the discussion has been very good. Mr. Chico and we will go right into it We were speaking about the police welfare association and some of the areas that it covers We just spoke about the distress and now we will be looking at the scholarship. So tell us about the scholarship right, so the police scholarship fund was again set up by the then commissioner and What we have with the police scholarship fund is that every police officer who has a child who has gone through secondary school Level from from one to from five the welfare association has the responsibility of purchasing school supplies and books for a child when a child gets to from five the welfare association also pays the CXC of that child the scholarship fund is basically set up in order to assist our members to Take off the plight of buying books and you know the expenses Allocated to to to to search so the welfare association the fund is organized to really take off the building from the membership it's a format members contribute to and It's a format that that is only is strictly for scholarship. I think to date we have 374 students in the scholarship And and we have a I think we want to be the police force The welfare association scholarship fund is the biggest spin scholarship funding solution we have the most students in our scholarship and I Average yearly we spend in the in the amounts of almost 325,000 dollars as it pertains to scholarship and these and these are direct Awards in terms of money received from the membership We spend it back in order to ensure that the children receive all the books as it pertains to the education because the welfare association Is is of the view that education is very important in today's society and we try our best to make sure that All students receive such a scholarship And I believe that most of our viewers would be of the belief that the welfare association is Strictly there for when there are issues to be you know going out on the media or defending police officers But here we have some very good information Yes, we just spoke about that this stress fund and now we're hearing about the scholarship fund That's where you know these this is such an important You know on thing and it is really good. And I guess what is the feedback from from the parents? Oh, yeah, I can tell you a lot of the parents are very thankful for such a fun, especially some of our police officers who have children In in different communities and some you know, we've not really seen the fathers very often and when the time for scholarship Come on the welfare association Some people have the view that because they don't live with the father that they are not entitled But when they come and inquire and with a yes, um, I vote you have him being a challenge The name features on the birth certificate that child is entitled You could see the relief on the face of those parents and some of them are very grateful We get a lot of parents written in those books and when those books are written the welfare association in turn run a little a little a little program where we assist students who are not parents We are not children of police officers and we give them those books once they are in good condition We hand over the books to students. We also assist sometimes with supplies notebooks to to to children in need So the welfare association does not only assist the children of police officers with the scholarship fund We also assist many children within the various communities of Saint Moshe so if One was a police officer and maybe through resignation or retirement they've left but their child Have not gone through that process in terms of receiving the benefits. Can that child? That child is still entitled to receiving the benefits What we find a lot of the times is that we encourage the members when they are retiring Or when they are resigning from the organization when they move on to greener passions They could still make the contribution to the welfare associations in other words to us to continue assisting them as the as as the child goes through through the secondary school education schooling Very good. We will now move on to insurance. You spoke about that magical insurance So tell us some more about that Okay, the welfare association in spite of the collective agreement where Police officers are entitled to free medical and it would be a binning in government hospitals The police welfare association went a step forward We feel that it was fit for us to because of the nature of the job That we should have had an insurance covering us and it is an insurance paid by us by police officers And the purpose the sole purpose of insurance is for better and better quality health care So the insurance covers a transport ambulance. It covers emergency Emergency medical it also covers it has a small life. So if a police officer would have passed During the time he remains a member of the insurance, he would receive a $50,000 life His family would receive it. So the welfare association Has always had the drive to bring more members only on on the plan And we believe as we bring members on the plan, we could always go back to the provider And we negotiate the terms and conditions because we'd have brought in more persons onto the plan But the welfare insurance run by the welfare association, I believe Is going to be better insurances on the island in terms of our relationship with the provider The welfare association continues to see a lot of speedy care when it comes to when we call the provider and we say You know what police officer has to go for emergency medicals in MAPNIC They did it very accommodative to often and this is the sole intention of the the welfare's insurance to make sure that officers Who are part of this insurance can receive quality care that we would not Be in a position to know that we've lost an officer because he could not have received the care Necessary for him to survive. So this is why we have the medical insurance and we continue to urge our members to come on board And take advantage of such an initiative by the welfare association Okay, can any um of the persons from the other essential services be part of that insurance? Or is it solely for police officers? Well, it is solely for police officers and staff So we have some of our civilian staff within the police force who are part of our insurance like our Secretaries and our our clerks. They are offered the opportunity But I know some of the essential services have their own insurances, but we cover police officers and the staff Or we are directly related we are directly associated to the rural financial police force Okay, briefly, um, can you tell us in terms of some of the projects that your association Is working on now? Well, as you as you would be aware, I'm pretty soon will be celebrating the Another part of the anniversary of the passing of Randy Abbott and the welfare association This year will hold its second anniversary of the Randy Abbott football tournament The welfare association has paid a number of opinion in terms of writing to the commissioner in terms of enacting a lot of policies within the Morales and worship police force. So we look at our professional standards. We look at um absentee absenteeism within the organization A number of other projects, um At present we have a small tech shop being run by the by the world police work for association And what we also looking to do not too far from today is to write to the commissioner So that we could have a barbershop and what we what the sole intention is to to to have a young man who Who is unemployed and who has the ability to see whether or not it would be possible to fit him Within the headquarters area so that so it is also considered as a crime fighting initiative as well so the welfare association has a number of of of plans that we believe Could happen and could we could enact so that we could really gain the interest of our members. However, um In the time period as a welfare association one year is very short And there's there's the little that you could accomplish between such a time But then we also believe that if we if we do the right things and we pass on the information to Other executives and they continue then you would see a more effective and a more vibrant Association so this is where we as an association now And um we continue to to take ideas from our membership We continue to ask civilians who have an interest in in policing to to also bring forward Their ideas as the welfare association could better The um the management or the run-ins of the welfare association and also their entrepreneurship police force Speaking of time. This is all the time we have On this segment of issues announcers You've been watching a special edition of issues announcers With me elvis thomas acting assistant superintendent of police and my guest mr. Travis chico Constable number six nine four president of the police welfare association. I wish we had more time You know for this, but then we will get some more time at some other point. Thank you for watching and goodbye