More UK cops review RCIPS
(CNS): In an attempt to address the problem of the community’s low confidence in how the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service’s (RCIPS) handles information and intelligence given to it by the public, the departing Acting Police Commissioner has initiated a thematic review of its intelligence systems, practices, policies and procedures by former officers from the United Kingdom. James Smith said the review is designed to identify areas of best practice as well as highlight any processes which could be improved upon.
Smith acknowledged that there have been concerns expressed by members of the public and from officers within the service relating to how intelligence is handled and that a review of the systems in place is the most effective way to address those concerns.
“It is imperative that the way we access, gather, store and use intelligence is the most efficient, effective and modern way possible,” Smith added. “We also need to ensure that the public have the utmost confidence in us when they give us information. This review will help us to assess our procedures and make improvements where necessary.”
He said the inspection will be led by two ex-UK police officers who have vast experience in reviewing intelligence systems and will be supported by two RCIPS Chief Inspectors. He confirmed that the former officers are not members of the Special Police Investigation Team (SPIT) brought here by the Governor, and re indpendent from those officers who are reportedly still working on police corruption issues.
With former SPIT Senior Investigating Officer Martin Bridger gone, Operation Tempura has reportedly wound down and been replaced by phase two of the investigation named Operation Cealt by Smith. SPIT is now being led by SIO Anne Lawrence from Scotland Yard.
Smith added that the duration of this separate review will be dictated by the outcome of actions completed but it is expected to take around three weeks to complete, after which a detailed report will be compiled. Smith explained that once the review is complete recommendations will be made on how things can be improved for the good of the service and the Cayman Islands as whole.
Smith noted that the review should not reflect badly on any police officers or departments.
“Acknowledging concerns and taking steps to address them should not be seen as negative reflection of the officers within the RCIPS,” he said. “The service recognises that there could be areas for improvement and is keen to ensure that these are identified and addressed.”
This review is one of many which have been carried out over the last few years. The most recent of which focussed on the Professional Standards Unit (formally the Complaints and Discipline Department). In 2008 the unit was audited by a UK police officer who examined how complaints against police were handled and the procedures in place for disciplining officers.
The new Police Commissioner David Baines is expected to arrive on Island some time next week to take up his post. Chief Superintendent John Jones who was recently cleared from any criminal allegations regarding the infamous Netnewsgate is also expected to return to duty in the next few weeks following a 14 month long suspension in the wake of that.
Category: Headline News
Ms. Myles, to answer your question about where the drug money and drugs go…ALL monies siezed in ANY police operations go to the CI GOVERNMENT, NOT the POLICE!! ALL monies collected by the police from tickets or fines go to the CI GOVERNMENT, not the POLICE
I thank you for answering my question, I was just a little bit skeptical, thats all, I had my reasons!
One thing I would really like to know, is what they really do with all that drug money and drugs when they do seized it? Can any officer out there answer me on this one please? Where is it really going?
Ms. Myles, to answer your question about where the drug money and drugs go…ALL monies siezed in ANY police operations go to the CI GOVERNMENT, NOT the POLICE!! ALL monies collected by the police from tickets or fines go to the CI GOVERNMENT, not the POLICE….
ALL drugs are labled and tagged as evidence until the trial of the accused persons is over and ALL appeals are exhausted. These drugs are then catalouged and accounted for in the presence of a Justice of the Peace and then destroyed by burning in the presence of the same Justice of the Peace who witnessed them being removed from evidence. The police get to keep NONE of the money which they seize or collect. This is done to remove the appearance of impropriety on the part of the police that they are benefitting monetarily from prosecuting people.
To the anonymous person who thinks we won’t post comments that are not anti-RCIPS. Please read our Comment Policy and Moderating the comments. In a nutshell, you can disagree with Shaun Ebanks all you want but do not make personal attacks against the man.
nicky,
That was in no way a personal attack against Shaun. Far from it i happen to like the man. I was simply saying that it is extremely easy to sit back and be judgemental about the organisation and offer pearls of wisdom. If he felt so strongly about the RCIP he, like the rest of us should have remained and attempted to improve from within.
He was entirely within his rights to leave – to be honest i dont blame him. But his comments in this and other threads only make the situation and the perception of the RCIPS worse – when he claims to have the best interests of the organisation at heart.
Dunno why i bother as you wont publish anyway.
Nicky: Reasonable submissions will be published. Just think a little harder before you type or email me if you want to discuss this.
Well it’s about time that they review this embrassing unsolved police dept. You can get away with murder in the Cayman Islands for so many goes unsolved. They definately need to put a stop to this. America has great police force, and Cayman can never compare to them, so what they need to do is to hire expert cops from America in that field. They really need to review every officer from UK right down to Jamaicans and Caymanians no one should be left out because it’s such an embrassment. Get your act together officers, and do your jobs.
Unfortunately the RCIPS starting back from around 2005, have instituted an "intelligence gathering/analysis system" that is 100% flawed for the Cayman Islands. As a result of this, we now have "system failures" that produce absolutely "zero" results in terms of preventation and detection of crimes.
As a former RCIPS senior officer, I keep in regular contact with serving police officers who give me regular updates on the running of the RCIPS. I can assure you, it’s not a pretty picture that is being painted of it’s present operations.
The local "senior high command" of the RCIPS have allowed the creation of "UK Bureaucracy and Hypocrisy" to have entered it doors and firmly established itself, having failed miserably in the UK.
A good example of this; Does the public know that if you report a suspicious person(s) or a vehicle suspected of having drugs/firearms at a particular location or about to move from point A to B to a detective in the Drugs Task Force, under the RCIPS system’s of operations today, this officer have to notify a "intelligence officer" whom will have to coordinate a course of action ??????
Long gone are the days, when we would call a few DTFofficers whom would be prepared to use their personal vehicles and dispatch themselves to a "rendezvous point" where we would get O.P.’s (Observation Points) in place at a moments notice and arrange a "Take Down Team" to intercept these suspected drug/firearm runners before they make good of delivering their venom to the community. I cannot believe that under the system’s in place today, only an intelligence officer is allowed to carrry out observations on a target and not a regular experienced detective whom have done this from the time of leaving police training as a rookie. This is the kind of stupidity that have been embraced by your local senior officers today, whom call themselves "Operational Chiefs/Commanders" Give me a break, please !!!!!!!!!!
The public need to also know that despite a number of former local experienced police officers re-aplying to join the RCIPS, (myself not included) they are systematically being turned down and foreign officers from corrupt jurisdictions are being recruited and given the preference over local applicants.
These officers whom are recruited from overseas, realizing that they may be subject to the seven years roll-over policy, are simply in the RCIPS for the ride and to gain and gather as much as they can without having having a long term commitment to the Cayman Islands.
The saga continues in the RCIPS and I’m not sure when it will ever end. It’s an ABSOLUTE SHAME what has been taking place in the RCIPS over these last few years and until certain people are dismissed, cause to resign, transferred, retired from their positions in management, it will not improve and so people like myself have no intentions of reapplying. Thank God I’m in a position to maintain and state that position, for I and others whom have left with an umblimished record, have not created the instability the RCIPS experiences and finds itself into today.
Procedure for complaints against officers? yes complaint to the complaints department aka the black hole and nothing will get done, nothign will come out etc. Justice Quin in a ruling last year said that a police officer was incompetent indolent forgetful and negligent – what happened to him – exactly nothing. what about all the other complaints that aren’t backed up by a Grand court ruling? there are no standing orders for officers, no accountability and no penalties for failure to perform – they don’t even get appraisals on a yearly basis. Need we say any more. Until there is accountability there will be patchy performance.
Smith says "“The service recognises that there could be areas for improvement and is keen to ensure that these are identified and addressed.”
That may be so, but the individuals involved do not take criticism well. The force will function no matter who is in any given post, but Mr Baines has to throw out the garbage before it will work with public confidence. XXXXXXXXXX
Smith says "“Acknowledging concerns and taking steps to address them should not be seen as negative reflection of the officers within the RCIPS,”
Yes it should, and those responsible should be made to be responsible for the damage they do.
The arrogance that the force does not need the public, and that they can lie to us has to be removed with them. Only then will the force move forward. 15 unsolved murders? If the public trusted the police, they would come forward with the essential piece of information in at least one of those cases.
Blessed.