Latest update December 11th, 2024 1:33 AM
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Royal Grenada Police launches campaign against ‘low pants waist’
Grenada’s Police Commissioner, James Clarkson
By Sean Devers in Grenada
The Americanized trend of males wearing their pants waist very low to show off their underwear is now a fashion statement in Guyana and across the Caribbean.
However, the Royal Grenada Police Force will not tolerate this type of dress on the 133-sqaure mile island and a campaign targeting youngsters who show their underwear in public by wearing their pants below their waistline has been launched.
The crusade is the latest of several news initiatives introduced by New Police Commissioner James Clarkson, who was sworn in shortly after last July’s general elections.
He said that the crackdown by the police is intended to remind these people about the proper dress code when in public. Clarkson, who was appointed as head of the police force in August, said that he is making a special appeal to parents to remind their children about the decent way to dress.
“Any time you allow lawlessness to start taking effect on your country, you have a problem,” the Commissioner said, and added that he wants a close relationship with the press.
“They have some people, especially young men, who forget at this point where their waist in their body is. They think their waist is by their knees,” said Commissioner Clarkson, who has also served in police forces in New York and Trinidad and Tobago.
“We need the moral back in our society, so we are going to address this problem and remind them. It’s not just a question of legality it’s a question of morality,” he said.
The so called “sagging pants” trend has been linked to the international hip-hop culture but is said to have its roots in prisons where inmates’ pants often hang off their butts because they are not allowed to carry belts.
Grenadian youngsters have also caught on this growing fashion trend, made popular on videos of the rap genre and which has been a major subject of debate in the United States where some states have passed laws banning the practice.
Commissioner James said recently that his officers ordered a group of tourists back on a cruise ship because of the way they were dressed.
He also told newsmen of his plans to decentralise the decision-making process in the force. “So it means I am bringing the decision closer to the service area, right down to the Constables. This way they don’t have to wait on me or their senior officers to make a decision,” he said.
He also disclosed that plans are ahead to provide better working conditions for female police officers. About ten percent of the entire force is made up of women.
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