By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police Samuel Butler, the officer-in-charge of Grand Bahama and the northern district, is retiring after 40 years of service with the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Reflecting on his policing career, the veteran cop said he is pleased to have been given the opportunity to serve and protect.

ACP Butler's leave will take effective on April 3.

“I am at the threshold of retirement, and it has been a long run within the RBPF," he said. "For me, 40 years has been a major accomplishment in terms of serving the public and being at the frontline of fighting crime. But my fulfilment is when we got the opportunity of touching lives in positive ways.”

ACP Butler has served at various Family Islands, including Andros, Bimini, and Abaco before being assigned to Grand Bahama.

“Everywhere I was asked to serve throughout my career, I took it seriously and always wanted to do the best I could. And wherever I went, I sought to touch lives in a positive way and serve the honour of the badge,” he said.

ACP Butler also served at the Detective Training School for three years, but the greater part of his career has been with the Drug Enforcement Unit, where he served at various levels in that section.

He recalled that the apprehension of drug traffickers was satisfying, but the major accomplishment was the prevention of drugs and contraband entering the country and being able to preserve life.

Through his years on the force, ACP Butler has seen many changes in the organisation, which has greatly evolved from an archaic form of policing to modern policing, integrating technology in crime-fighting.

“I recall working in a police station with no a/c, not even a typewriter, and certainly a computer was not heard of in those times, but we did it,” he said.

“There have been major changes (since then), and I am so proud of our organisation. Year after year, you saw (new) development and improvement in facilities, knowledge building, and a lot of investment has been made in human resources, and interface with international organisations. It is a tremendous difference from then to now. We are in the age of technology in our organisation,” he added.

When asked about women in leadership roles on the force, ACP Butler said the RBPF is not gender-driven but rather looks at one's ability. He believes that there are many “versatile and well qualified” women who can lead the force.

“Women always had leadership roles in the organisation, and I had the opportunity to be touched, tutored, and mentored by many women,” he said.

“The future is truly bright for women leadership and I encourage my female counterparts to keep focused… and I believe in short order, not just GB, but I am sure in short order we may even see a woman at the helm as commissioner of police, not because of gender, but because of ability,” he said.

ACP Butler said he enjoyed his tenure in Grand Bahama.

“Grand Bahama is a wonderful place, and there are many memorable moments. Being able to work with such wonderful staff, I could not exist as a leader without a great support staff.”

However, ACP Butler he said could never forget Hurricane Dorian, which was perhaps the most challenging moment of his entire policing career.

“Almost at the end of my career and y’all give me Hurricane Dorian. We thought we were prepared – but not for Hurricane Dorian,” he said.