The Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) began the New Year with their annual church service hosted on the grounds of the RBPF Headquarters in New Providence, on Sunday, January 3rd, 2021. Executive RBPF teams from Family Islands throughout the Bahamas, including the Eleuthera Division, attended the service virtually.
“Before we chart our way forward, we have traditionally assembled in the House of God, to give thanks and praise for the successes of the year gone past, and guidance for the future year,” said Officer-In-Charge of the Eleuthera Division, Chief Superintendent Stephen Adderley about the annual service, adding, “It gives us a spiritual foundation, on which this nation is built.”
A significant part of the service each year recognizes members of the Force who have passed away, or fallen from the ranks. The Eleuthera Division in 2020, lost Reserve Officer Melinda Pratt. “She died tragically on the street just outside of the Eleuthera Headquarters in August, via a road traffic accident, while she was on duty. So, this year it was a somber moment for us, as we remembered her contribution to the Eleuthera District. She will definitely be missed – she was such a quiet, gentle soul, and an effective officer. May her soul rest in peace,” said C/Supt. Adderley.
Reserve Officer Pratt, said Adderley, served on many islands, including Grand Bahama and New Providence, before coming back to Eleuthera. She was a Senior Reserve added Adderley, having served for many years – also working as a Police Civilian within the Public Service at one point – a seasoned veteran.
OIC Adderley and his Executive team of officers, in a brief ceremony before the start of the national church service on Sunday afternoon, formally laid a wreath at the foot of the flagpole at the front of the Eleuthera RBPF Headquarters, in memory and honour of the late Reserve Officer Melinda Pratt, and others who had fallen from the ranks of the RBPF nationally during 2020.
In a brief interview following the service, C/Supt. Adderley commented on the plethora of accidents that have taken place on island this past year, saying that the main cause in each incident had been speeding. So, he implored Eleuthera residents to heed the traffic laws as well as the speed limits within the settlements and on the highway.
