Trinidad cop is region’s first woman qualified as bomb technician

(Trinidad Express) The TTPS and the Caribbean has its first female police officer who is internationally qualified as a bomb technician.
Constable Shawnee Thompson said it never crossed her mind to pursue such a daunting feat.
Thompson was Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) lone representative and the only female at this year’s Police Explosive Technicians and Radiography Course in Canada.
She is from the TTPS’s Special Branch, Explosives Detection and Disposal Unit.
A post to the police’s social media page stated, “WPC Thompson, the first policewoman to be internationally qualified as a bomb technician within the TTPS and the Caribbean, successfully navigated through a five-week programme, from May 30 to June 30, at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police College and the Technical and Protective Operations Facility, Ottawa, Canada, where she scored 96.7% and 100% in two written assessments and passed all practical exams. The first female bomb technician in Trinidad and Tobago was acting Sergeant Adelina Hospedales.”
There were 11 participants, from United Kingdom, Canada, Iceland and Trinidad and Tobago at this year’s course. Thompson underwent different types and components of explosives and procedures to render them safe.
She was chosen due to her performance, work ethic, attitude towards work, interpersonal skills, deportment and several other attributes, the post added.
The officer, who has about five years’ service, said that her career in the TTPS was birthed as a result of her passion for serving, working with young people, helping others and being a patriot.
“In my earlier years, my passion led me to enrol in the Trinidad and Tobago Cadet Force where I served over a period of 15 years until attaining the rank of Second Lieutenant, working with young persons like myself and acquiring several disciplinary, weapon, foot drills and leadership skills. I even spent a short period with the youth department of the Tobago House of Assembly which allowed me to work with communities, even the one I grew up in,” Thompson was quoted as saying in the post.
She urged fellow police officers “never to give up” and to find and pursue their passions.
“The TTPS has a lot to offer and one should not limit themselves or settle by being comfortable in their current position. Identify your passion, set goals and monitor your progress, identify your strengths and weaknesses, train your skills, master your craft, become the best version of yourself, remain open-minded, keep learning, stay strong and never give up,” Thompson said.