The following is the farewell speech presented to Mr.Ademar Doran from the Governor of St.Maarten, Mr.Franklyn Richards on the ocassion of his leave from the Police Force of St.Maarten.
Ceremony on occasion of Commissioner of Police, A. Doran leaving function as police chief
Remarks by Local Chief of Police, the honorable Mr. F.E. Richards – Governor SXM
Members of government; distinguished guests; members of the Windward Islands Police force management team; fellow members of the police organization; ladies and gentlemen…..
It is my distinct honor to address you, the uniformed and non-uniformed men and women of the Windward Islands Police Corps, and our distinguished guests, on this occasion, when we gather to publicly thank outgoing chief of the police force Windward Islands, Commissioner Ademar Doran……
I am delighted that we could come together on this occasion, certainly at a time when the police force has undergone various important developments as part of its reorganization efforts in past years.
Commissioner Doran has played a pivotal role both before and during this time – when we have had to think about the future and what kind of police force we would need to become to meet the many ever-emerging challenges facing us now and in the future.
Today we are not only celebrating the contributions made by Mr. Doran, but are looking forward to an exciting and positive future for the police force of St. Maarten, with a motivated, well equipped, well-trained and better structured police organization there to protect the people of St. Maarten.
On this festive occasion, I wish to publicly salute commissioner of police, Ademar Doran, as you have, throughout these past years, continued to function even though you may not have possessed all of the tools, resources and sufficient people to do the job.
But you have proven that you did have the will to do so; more importantly, you displayed the kind of attitude needed to take the police force to the next level.
It has not always been easy sailing and there have been moments of serious doubts concerning the direction in which the police force is headed.
Time and time again, both my office and the police management team were forced to seriously assess procedures, such as:
an open channel of communication
feedback on police action and
operations to underscore the efforts of our police force in the ongoing battle to address, prevent and solve crime.
Mr. Doran, today, you and members of the police management team can be proud of the fact that citizens seem to care enough to lead police to the whereabouts and subsequent apprehension of criminals. This whereas there existed widespread distrust of police among the public.
As alluded to before, Commissioner Doran took over the reins of the local police force at a time when all efforts were being made to transform the police force into a more professional organization, with its own budget — prepared within the framework of a sound multi-year financial policy.
These efforts are continuing with attention being paid to structural upgrading coupled with development and training of personnel, among other initiatives.
With the St. Maarten police force now ready to be led by a new chief, we must keep all of the aforementioned in mind and move forward in
recognition of the committed, earnest and dedicated members of the police force.
Ladies and gentlemen, I conclude my remarks by expressing the expectation that the members of the St. Maarten police force will continue to support the transformation of the force as it evolves into what it ought to be.
As such, I have never stopped expressing how much the police needs the continuous support of the community as a whole — in order to be effective in enforcing and upholding the law, and to serve the interest of the people adequately.
Commissioner Doran, as Local Chief of Police, I believe it is only fitting and proper that I, along with the police management team as well as the wider community recognize your efforts over the course of the past years.
Thank you for your perseverance!
To your successor, I wish to convey words of welcome in the hope that you too, will ultimately find your new experience with our police force, a most rewarding one.
I thank all of you for listening and extend words of deepest gratitude and appreciation to you for your cooperation with my person as Local Chief of Police, during my tenure as governor of the island territory of St. Maarten.