{"id":176618,"date":"2017-01-20T10:22:26","date_gmt":"2017-01-20T14:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=176618"},"modified":"2017-01-21T11:04:06","modified_gmt":"2017-01-21T15:04:06","slug":"commentary-the-rural-constables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/","title":{"rendered":"COMMENTARY: The Rural Constables"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
The First Dominica Born Police Chief \u2013 ( the late) Damase Philbert of La Plaine being awarded the Colonial Service Medal in 1964.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rural constables (called conestabs in patois) were noble and dignified men who hailed from the hills and valleys of Dominica. They were simple but important figures of authority and law enforcement in the rural areas.<\/p>\n

They played a vital and important role in the maintenance of law and order and in the deterrent of crimes in their rural districts. They provided most of the advantages a police presence brings to a community. The Rural Constabulary Force was a vital link between the regular police and the residents of the rural districts and villages.<\/p>\n

Unlike the regular police, they were not formally trained, nor did they enjoy the same powers as their police counterparts but their commitment, integrity and sense of duty were hardly questioned when assisting the police in the execution of their duties.<\/p>\n

These included substituting for them when they were out of the District or while they were attending business in Roseau or conducting the village court. Conestabs\u2019 had little or no legitimate arresting powers but were the eyes and ears of the police.<\/p>\n

According to a decorated former Dominican Police Commissioner who was interviewed for this article, \u2018Rural constables were selected from the ranks of police sympathizers and supporters in the villages by the Districts\u2019 Police Station Commanders.<\/p>\n

Their final confirmation was the task of the island\u2019s police commissioner (called Superintendent at that time) or the magistrates who held court in the villages and districts. The conestabs’ were chosen based on the need for further police assistance and the candidate\u2019s criminal record and standing in the community.<\/p>\n

In the later years (late 50s), the conestabs\u2019 were issued uniforms that were khaki pants and shorts, black police cap and a whistle and a baton. The whistle essentially filled the role of the two-way radio.<\/p>\n

Although conestabs\u2019 were respected by the majority of rural folks, they were often ridiculed and laughed at for their lack of formal training, gross inabilities to make formal written reports and to present evidence in court in a professional and convincing manner due to their high degree of illiteracy and deficient English-speaking skills. Nonetheless, they went about their auxiliary policy assignments with determination, and pride.<\/p>\n

Rural constables who lived in villages far away from the police stations often became mediators in village disputes . The former commissioner said that in villages such as Grand Fond and Fond St. Jean where the closest police stations were in La Plaine and Grand Bay respectively, that was the pattern.<\/p>\n

In the case of Grand Fond, it was more pronounced due to the fact that the Rosalie Police station closed in the early 50s and motorable roads did not arrive in La Plaine (where the closest police station is located) until the mid-sixties.<\/p>\n

Due to the fact that there were no motorable roads at that time of the island\u2019s development, the police had to travel to these areas either on foot or horse back to service these outlying areas. Invariably, they could not get there in a timely manner. As a result, the constables had to expand their law enforcement roles.<\/p>\n

Another reason why these conestabs\u2019 made very few arrests and did not detain offenders of the law was due to the reality that in these remote areas there were no police stations or jails.<\/p>\n

As a result, the conestabs\u2019 became very skilled mediators of disputes and conflicts. They practiced a very popular and successful form of community policing. They were very effective and efficient in these assignments due to the fact were part of the local population and were well versed with local concerns and dynamics of their communities. They executed court warrants, delivered summons. They also were assigned to apprehend offenders who did not show up for their court hearings.<\/p>\n

The conestabs\u2019 received very little or no pay. Their real payments were in the form of elevated standings and prestige in their communities as custodians of the law. But often times these custodians of the law crossed the lines on proper conduct.<\/p>\n

The conestab in La Plaine for over 50 years was a larger than life character named (late) Mr. Bellot Rodney. On one occasion in the late sixties as a child, I overheard a conversation that my late grandfather, Mr. Burton Allan (1899- 1991) who was the village\u2019s oral historian had with the Conestab\u2019 Bellot. Bellot told Papa Borton\u2019 in an arrogant manner (in patois), \u2018I am serving the Queen (Elizabeth) and defending the (British) crown and this is an honour to me. La Plaine folks (\u2018Jean Lapline\u2019) should appreciate my sacrifices\u2019.<\/p>\n

Papa Borton approached conestab Bellot after a parent reported to him that Bellot used excessive force while apprehending his son who failed to show up for his court. Papa was one of the few men in the village who could confront the conestab or who he would listen to or seek wise council from.<\/p>\n

Of course, as it is customary with law enforcement, conestab\u2019 Bellot denied that he used excessive force while apprehending the man.<\/p>\n

Papa gave Bellot a stern warning about the manner in which he conducts himself during his constabulary duties. Papa told him that if he continues with his aggressive behaviour, one of these dark nights (as there were no electricity in the village) he could find himself at the end of a merciless beating and no one would hear, see or know who the perpetrators would be. Also Papa told him that he would file a report with the Superintendent about his the next time he went to Roseau.<\/p>\n

After that reprimand from my grandfather, there were no more reports of misconduct from conestab\u2019 Bellot. But during his daily and Sunday afternoon strolls through the village, Bellot walked in a manner and style that exuded a great deal of (over) confidence and high importance. It was hard to dismiss or ignore him. He was in charge and everyone knew it.<\/p>\n

The conestabs\u2019 served in relatively peaceful times and went about their duties largely unchallenged. As the 70s approached, as my generation (teenagers of the mid and late 70s matured), Dominican society became more complexed. The types, frequency and nature of crimes and criminal activity increased. The manner of policing and the relationships between the police and communities became more antagonistic and acromonical.<\/p>\n

Suddenly young men- Rasta- retreated to the hills. A violent minority of these so-called Rasta made life miserable for villagers and folks who made a living farming their plots of land in \u2018Horte\u2019 and in the nearby forests.<\/p>\n

In response to this menace, the \u2018colonel\u2019 PM Patrick John Labour government enacted a shoot to kill law, which was supported by the Eugenia Charles\u2019 Opposition Freedom Party. Heavily armed Dominica Defense Force troops, Police units and the newly formed Special (Secret Police) Constabulary Force took up positions in the countryside in places such as the Pond Casse Police Station and other rural areas in order to neutralize Rasta.<\/p>\n

But the former Commissioner pointed out, that in the initial stages of the campaign, the rural and special constabulary forces joined and became one entity. Along with the Defense force and police units, this integrated force assisted in guarding sensitive government property such as water reservoirs. They also conducted joint night patrols due to the fact that the conestabs knew the lay of the land and had intelligence from village folks.<\/p>\n

But the use of the information and camaraderie of the conestabs was quickly cast a side by the gun tooting and trigger happy troops. These troops (who were comprised of mostly rum drinking men), roamed the countryside intimidating impoverished villagers and (in many cases) antigovernment supporters.<\/p>\n

Members of the Defense force and secret police were patronizers, hard line supporters, enforcers and political operatives of the government. In fact this security apparatus was nothing more than the military wing of the then Labour Party Government. . There was little or no command and control of this frightening apparatus. The Midnite Groovers music band composed many popular songs with themes depicting the unsettling, polarizing and confusing period of our recent history.<\/p>\n

Unlike the newly formed politically connected Special Constabulary Force (secret police), the Rural Constabulary Force (conestabs\u2019) was comprised of simple, illiterate men of the rural peasantry who never had a remote chance of educating themselves and improving their lots in life. They were no match for these Roseau based political favorites (secret police) of the ruling party. The conestabs\u2019 came along at a different time when life was much less complicated. They did not understand, identify or had the capacity or knowledge to deal with the inner workings of the modern politics of the noble task of law enforcement and police duties.<\/p>\n

As the 70s ebbed away, the conestabs\u2019 grew older and their contributions were no longer respected and needed. They had become forgotten men of a by-gone era. Also the majority of the island had motorable roads and more modern day police stations were being constructed and equipped with vehicles and up to date-to-date technological communications. This period marked the beginning the end of the institution of the Rural Constabulary Force.<\/p>\n

The conestabs\u2019 in their simplicity understood their roles, responsibilities and challenges that were involved in being custodians of the law with very little distractions and ambiguities such involvement in party politics. But local politics was less pronounced as Dominica was an agrarian based colony of Britain at that time.<\/p>\n

Some may argue that maybe it was a golden age in law enforcement when these old timers played vital roles in serving and protecting rural Dominicans. These men epitomized integrity, commitment, duty, and purpose and consequently have left a rich and cherished legacy.<\/p>\n

The success of the constabulary Force was very much the product of the efforts of each conestab\u2019 and the police working in close collaborative partnerships with the various communities. Today\u2019s police would well be advised to borrow a page from these old timers brand of community policing, integrity, laser focused ways of law enforcement and build upon their past accomplishments. In a profound way they were very instrumental in maintaining law and order and preserving the quality of life for rural folks. Their reassuring presence and sense of duty and dedication increased their community\u2019s\u2019 sense of well-being and protection.<\/p>\n

These men (malaway\u2019) have passed on and are eternally resting peacefully. Even as their souls rest in peace, it is not too late to give a final salute (which they never got during their lifetime) and say thanks for a job well done.<\/p>\n

This writer remembers them as giants and knights of law enforcement on our island. History bears witness to this fact.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rural constables (called conestabs in patois) were noble and dignified men who hailed from the hills and valleys of Dominica. They were simple but important figures of authority and law enforcement in the rural areas. They played a vital and…","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":176619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-176618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCOMMENTARY: The Rural Constables - Dominica News Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COMMENTARY: The Rural Constables - Dominica News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rural constables (called conestabs in patois) were noble and dignified men who hailed from the hills and valleys of Dominica. They were simple but important figures of authority and law enforcement in the rural areas. They played a vital and...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dominica News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-20T14:22:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-21T15:04:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rurual-constable.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"344\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"391\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/commentary-the-rural-constables\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/commentary-the-rural-constables\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/51a62154b494e84510be75e846b1cf55\"},\"headline\":\"COMMENTARY: The Rural Constables\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-20T14:22:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-21T15:04:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/commentary-the-rural-constables\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1800,\"commentCount\":6,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/commentary-the-rural-constables\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/01\\\/rurual-constable.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/commentary-the-rural-constables\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/commentary-the-rural-constables\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/commentary-the-rural-constables\\\/\",\"name\":\"COMMENTARY: The Rural Constables - Dominica News Online\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/commentary-the-rural-constables\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/commentary-the-rural-constables\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/01\\\/rurual-constable.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-20T14:22:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-21T15:04:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/51a62154b494e84510be75e846b1cf55\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/commentary-the-rural-constables\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/commentary-the-rural-constables\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/commentary-the-rural-constables\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/01\\\/rurual-constable.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/01\\\/rurual-constable.jpg\",\"width\":344,\"height\":391,\"caption\":\"The First Dominica Born Police Chief \u2013 ( the late) Damase Philbert of La Plaine being awarded the Colonial Service Medal in 1964.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/commentary-the-rural-constables\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"COMMENTARY: The Rural Constables\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dominica News Online\",\"description\":\"The most popular news site in the Commonwealth of Dominica\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/51a62154b494e84510be75e846b1cf55\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bd0b04180c51bc8e59c8d28d7acff1965c4b2afbb02839737980abb592734752?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bd0b04180c51bc8e59c8d28d7acff1965c4b2afbb02839737980abb592734752?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bd0b04180c51bc8e59c8d28d7acff1965c4b2afbb02839737980abb592734752?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/rsanford\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"COMMENTARY: The Rural Constables - Dominica News Online","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"COMMENTARY: The Rural Constables - Dominica News Online","og_description":"Rural constables (called conestabs in patois) were noble and dignified men who hailed from the hills and valleys of Dominica. They were simple but important figures of authority and law enforcement in the rural areas. They played a vital and...","og_url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/","og_site_name":"Dominica News Online","article_published_time":"2017-01-20T14:22:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-01-21T15:04:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":344,"height":391,"url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rurual-constable.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/"},"author":{"name":"Admin","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/51a62154b494e84510be75e846b1cf55"},"headline":"COMMENTARY: The Rural Constables","datePublished":"2017-01-20T14:22:26+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-21T15:04:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/"},"wordCount":1800,"commentCount":6,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rurual-constable.jpg","articleSection":["Commentary"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/","url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/","name":"COMMENTARY: The Rural Constables - Dominica News Online","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rurual-constable.jpg","datePublished":"2017-01-20T14:22:26+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-21T15:04:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/51a62154b494e84510be75e846b1cf55"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rurual-constable.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rurual-constable.jpg","width":344,"height":391,"caption":"The First Dominica Born Police Chief \u2013 ( the late) Damase Philbert of La Plaine being awarded the Colonial Service Medal in 1964."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-the-rural-constables\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"COMMENTARY: The Rural Constables"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/","name":"Dominica News Online","description":"The most popular news site in the Commonwealth of Dominica","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/51a62154b494e84510be75e846b1cf55","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bd0b04180c51bc8e59c8d28d7acff1965c4b2afbb02839737980abb592734752?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bd0b04180c51bc8e59c8d28d7acff1965c4b2afbb02839737980abb592734752?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bd0b04180c51bc8e59c8d28d7acff1965c4b2afbb02839737980abb592734752?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/author\/rsanford\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rurual-constable.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176618"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":176682,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176618\/revisions\/176682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}