Police officer starts talent contest

St Thomas-born detective Horaine Kelly is looking to merge policing and music through his recently launched Talent Fridays competition in his native parish.

He shared that he felt compelled to use music as a type of outreach to, among other things, highlight the parish's attributes amid constant negativity, and provide a platform for talented artistes.

"St Thomas for me has a lot of hidden talent and resources that need to be highlighted... . From I set foot in St Thomas you hear a lot of people speak negatively of the place and the youths at large, so I devised a plan to reach the wider society and there is no better way to do that but through music," he reasoned.

The competition was launched on September 3 at Wavez Sports Bar and is held every other Friday. It will run until December 2. Finalists will receive free studio time, cash prizes, assistance with creating their music video and the opportunity to secure a record label deal.

"So far we have had persons who are blind or other persons that have some other disabilities who have passed through and we give them the platform to perform so we give audience to other persons to feel good about themselves in whichever way," he said.

"Being a police officer means that I interact and engage fully with persons in the communities I serve. Through my work as an officer, I get to relate to the youths to help to guide and mentor them. My initiative now is no different because my goal here is to give opportunities to the said youth who are so creative in many ways, and I can appreciate where they are coming from and so I am doing my part to help them where I am. Understand, though, that this is more than just being a police officer. It's who I am as a person," he added.

Kelly also expressed appreciation for the support the competition has been receiving, including from his colleagues and superiors.

"The business community locally also lends their support to the initiative. I think this is because we can all see the potential this platform can offer our young youths. The youths are participating. We the officers and also the business moguls can see and appreciate their efforts. No man is an island and I think that all of us working together for a good we can perceive is a very good thing at the end of the day," he said.