Search Results for 'jack tempura'
‘Spitting’ on Cayman
Few CNS readers will have missed the irony of the exposure of SPIT’s antics and capers being sandwiched between two local news stories reporting serious crimes. While the underlying causes of rising crime here are no doubt multifaceted, the impact of the ‘sunshine squad’ on the morale of the RCIPS should not be underestimated.
For two years officers from our own police service have been subject to secret and mysterious scrutiny by a bunch of UK officers backed by the country’s highest official authority – the governor — which sent the message that they were corrupt and incompetent, and all because the Special Police Investigation Team said so.
Not a morsel of evidence or corruption has been revealed and, as far as we at CNS can tell from piecing together what has been exposed during the court hearings, judge’s rulings and sources close to the investigation, SIO Martin Bridger (who, you have to agree, cuts a dashing figure in a rubber ring) has interviewed no more than a handful of people in this investigation and did very little police work to find evidence to back his outrageous suggestions and theories.
The idea that murders, drug dealing, arms smuggling and other heinous crimes were rife in the RCIPS was based on nothing more than the marl road and malicious gossip fed to Bridger from the company he was want to keep during his stay here.
As it appears now that he was so busy buying boats and condos, drinking champagne at the Ritz and beer in the Triple Crown or flying first class, there wasn’t much time to actually do the detective work required to find out if the marl road rumour had any truth to it.
All of the people arrested during this shambolic investigation and his theories for what was going on were based on documents Bridger received on arrival from former commissioner, Stuart Kernohan, and DCS John Jones. From that, with the gossip he heard, Bridger had put two and two together and got 22. He arrested Lyndon Martin, a high court judge and the deputy commissioner of police merely on his own theories of invented burglaries and cover ups.
Convinced, or more likely wishing, that the entire judiciary and the RCIPS were corrupt but with no evidence, Bridger bent the rules to suit his own agenda and by doing so fundamentally disrupted this entire jurisdiction without cause -_ a point noted by Sir Peter Cresswell, who condemned Bridger for abusing his position.
Despite that, the result has been that we are bickering amongst ourselves over who is to blame for the scandalous situation. Politicians are shouting across the floor of the House blaming each other for supporting/causing the investigation, the members of the oversight committee are pointing fingers every which way but themselves, the community is blaming ex-pat cops, the ex-pats are blaming the Caymanians … and so it goes on.
There are, however, just two people who should be made to answer for this fiasco and the impact it has had on all of us as well as policing in the islands, and that is the governor, Stuart Jack, and the lead investigator, Martin Bridger.
They are the two that should be held accountable and forced to make a public apology to the people of the Cayman Islands and especially to the officers of the RCIPS, both those who are still serving and those who have since left as a result of this ridiculous escapade.
Whether Cayman will ever receive fair compensation for this outrageous abuse of power by the UK’s representative and what can only be described as the contemptible and scournful behaviour of Bridger and SPIT remains to be seen, but a very public apology is the very least the country should expect and receive.
Our crimewave may have its roots in the economic woes, the influx of guns into the island or even poor parenting, but it seems likely that the brazen behaviour of criminals owes much to the recognition that the RCIPS is depleted both in numbers and in terms of its morale. For two years the leadership has been unstable, the force has been under the cloud of suspicion, it has, as the new commissioner has noted since he arrived, been looking in on itself and not out at the community. Some of the best officers have resigned and the others are overworked and utterly demoralized because they feel — lets face it with due cause — as though they were spat upon.
The governor’s blind and continued support of Operation Tempura and latterly Cealt must stop. This insistence that the thousands of hours of reports given to the consultancy firm working for SPIT have revealed very serious crime, I suspect, isagain nothing more that malicious gossip and rumour. After all, commonsense tells us if there was even a scintilla of evidence, given Bridger’s track record, arrests would already have been made.
It is time for Cayman to demand that a line be drawn and for the apologies to be made. Then the country can begin a new chapter on 6 November when hopefully the new Constitution will give Caymanians the confidence to make steps towards ruling their own destiny, and finally shaking off the chains of colonialism which have no place in the modern world.
Bridger told oversight committee corruption was rife
(CNS): Following the shocking revelations by Auditor General Dan Dugauy’s office in the special report concerning the spending on Operations Tempura and Cealt, the former chief secretary has also revealed how those on the oversight committee were told of rampant corruption by the senior investigating officer. Speaking to News 27, George McCarthy revealed that Martin Bridger had made outrageous claims of corruption running riot in the RCIPS, from murder to drug dealing. However, the former top civil servant said the investigation got out of hand.
He said Bridger told them that there was massive corruption taking place in the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service –“that murders had taken place, that there were people here involved in drug related activities, and all of these things,” he added.
McCarthy was chief secretary when he was asked to chair the oversight committee by Governor Stuart Jack three months after Operation Tempura began, but he said they were not consulted at the beginning and had they been, the advice may have been never to start such an operation.
“It would have been best for this country if this had not gotten to the stage it did,” he said. The former CS explained that the oversight group was supposed to simply advise on what should happen to officers allegedly involved in corruption.
However, during the more than two-year special police investigations, Operation Tempura and latterly Operation Cealt, Bridger did not bring any corruption charges against any police officers with the exception of Deputy Commissioner Rudy Dixon, who eventually went to court regarding a single incident where he was found not guilty of misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice. The sole corruption charge that the more than $7millon investigation brought was the accusation that Dixon had ordered the release of Rudy Evans, a former police commissioner after he had been arrested on a DUI. During the trial the court heard that Dixon had advised the officer in charge that evening to release Evans based on local case history and the circumstances of the arrest.
To date there have been no other arrests of police officers and certainly no indication that RCIPS officers have been involved in anyone’s death or dealing drugs.
McCarthy told the television station that the investigations went too far but that the oversight committee could not be held responsible. The governor also has denied any culpability in two statements released since the public circulation of the auditor general’s report. Duguay and his team revealed that by June of this year the Special Police Investigation Team had spent almost $7 million with expectations that the bill will reach around $10 milion before it is over.
Despite the whopping cost to the Cayman Islands public purse and not one single conviction, Jack said in a public statement released by the governor’s office yesterday that Operation Cealt would continue and the operations would be allowed to reach their full conclusions.
Operation Cealt is said to be the part of the investigation in which the specialist consultant firm BGP Training and Consultancy was hired to conduct the interviews and de-briefings of the individuals who came forward with allegations of police wrongdoing and cost $585,700.
However, a number of sources have told CNS that the vast majority of the information collected was merely unsubstantiated rumours that have not been verified. Despite that, however, the governor has insisted that there are serious criminal allegations which are currently being investigated. Following Rudolf Dixon’s trial, SPIT has now been disbanded and the UK Met and ex Met police officers have left the island. The team was finally wound up on 9 October.
According to government sources the Cealt investigation will be conducted by a special internal unit within the RCIPS.
MLA hits out at governor
(CNS): The Independent MLA for North Side has directly criticised the governor and the detrimental impact he has had on the islands during his 4-year tenure. Holding no punches, Ezzard Miller said Stuart Jack had presided over and championed the destruction of the police, reduced confidence in the judiciary, allowed unaudited government accounts for 5 years, depleted the treasury with investigations and had overseen the greatest increase of the civil service despite his claims to uphold good governance.
The outspoken political veteran said in the wake of the governor’s throne speech last week that he wanted to express his “sincerest gratitude and heartfelt joy for the first seven words” in the governor’s address. “And I quote, ‘this will be my last throne speech’ — truly…..words that call for celebration and jubilation in the streets of George Town,” Miller said.
Speaking in the Legislative Assembly during the budget debate, Miller went on to say he could not imagine how much more damage the governor could have inflicted on Cayman had he been given another five years. Adding to a growing body of people willing to break the unspoken rule of not criticising the UK’s representative, Miller took aim at the governor’s oft repeated mantra of good governance and exactly what is meant by that phrase given his track record. He asked, too, if the governor’s comment was a veiled threat in light of his comparison of Cayman with Turks and Caicos. He also noted that the same veiled threat had been made in the regional and local media by the next governor (Duncan Taylor) due to arrive in January 2010.
“Their definition of good governance can set us up to fail….And when we fail they can take over as our new colonial master.” Miller said, adding that the UK could invade Cayman, not with anavy or an army but with their law books in London.
He also lamented the governor’s indication that there would be another review of the civil service, something he said that had been going on for years allegedly to make it more efficient. He said that in 1991 the government brought in two consultants to do time and motions studies to identify reductions in the service. “To the best of my knowledge, now — some 19 years later — those two individuals are still here,” he said, adding he’d not yet seen their report.
The North Side representative also observed how the governor had said the Cabinet Office would be increasing its support of the governor and the premier, and set that against the fact that it had six employees in 2003 but 120 in 2008. With that kind of personnel increase, that they could still find room for increasing support for the governor was hard to believe, he said.
Miller also made an interesting observation in connection with the host of new bodies and commissions being established as part of the new Constitution which he said were flagged by the governor as checks and balances on the powers of elected members.
“I am not aware of any great devolution of authority to elected representatives by the constitution. I know there are a couple of areas where there is some quasi-agreement that the governor may delegate some of these responsibilities, but that which is delegated can be recalled,” he warned, adding that the UK had retained the ultimate authority. “Why is it that we continue to promote and believe that only elected representatives need checks and balances?”
Miller then asked, what about the governor himself? and made it clear that those supported by the people are of equal if not more importance. “Should not the people’s representatives, duly elected, have some veto power in this parliament over some of the H.E’s unilateral decisions?”
In his own speech, the governor did not make a single mention of the now enormous cost of the discredited Operation Tempura investigation, which recently faced its third defeat in the court room, or the detrimental impact it has had on the police and judicial services, as well as the individuals who fell victim to the ill-conceived and costly UK investigation.
Vote in the CNS online poll: Is Stuart Jack doing a good job as governor?
Charge dropped in Dixon case
(CNS): One of the two charges against Deputy Commissioner Rudolph Dixon brought by the Special Police Investigation Team (SPIT) has been dropped, leaving just one count of misconduct against the senior cop. Dixon’s trial, which is still set to start on 28 September, will now focus on an incident in 2004 where he has been accused of telling a police officer to release an individual from custody who had been charged with a drunk driving offence. The senior officer has persistently denied any misconduct on his part relating to either of the charges.
These were brought following his arrest by SPIT’s Senior Investigating Officer Martin Bridger and has said he looked forward to having his day in court and clearing his name.
The news comes only one week after the ‘not guilty’ verdict in the trial against Lyndon Martin and further discrediting of Bridger’s Operation Tempura investigation, which was first seriously questioned during the judicial review for Justice Alex Henderson when the judge’s arrest by Bridger was proven to be unlawful and Sir Peter Cresswell, the judge in that case, described Bridger’s investigation as a “gross abuse of the process”.
Dixon was first arrested by SPIT based on two counts of misconduct in a public office and two counts of doing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice, relating to incidents that Dixon has claimed had been widely known. The charge that has now been dropped related to an arrest on 22 June 2003, when Dixon reportedly instructed Chief Inspector Reginald Branch of the Cayman Brac Police Station that it was the policy of the police not to prosecute for illegal gambling and to release two men who had been brought in for illegal gambling, and to give them back the cash and gambling registers which had been seized.
The second charge, which still remains at present, involves Dixon reportedly directing Inspector Burmon Scott of George Town Police Station (who has filed for damages regarding his arrest in connection with this case) to release a man who was being held on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
At the time of the charges Bridger said they were “very serious” and that it was Attorney General Samuel Bulgin who had made the decision, basedon the evidence and the severity of the accusations, to bring the charges. Questions, however, still remain regarding the charges, which Bridger conceded at the time were common law offences, as to the actual legality of Dixon’s arrest.
Since that time, however, the entire Operation Tempura has been severely discredited and none of the arrests or charges linked to investigations undertaken by Bridger have stuck. Following the huge damages payout to Justice Henderson, coupled with costs of what now appears to be a failed investigation, has caused public outrage at Bridger and the Governor Stuart Jack for his persistent support of the SPIT SIO.
Senior cop to return to work
(CNS): Speculation that Chief Superintendent John Jones was returning to his post was confirmed today (Friday 28 August) when Police Commissioner David Baines announced Jones was exonerated. Bains said there would be no disciplinary action taken against Jones and he would be back to work on Monday 31 August. The new commissioner said Jones had conducted himself “professionally” throughout the Operation Tempura investigation, during which the senior officer had been suspended, and said he was pleased he was returning to his job.
Governor Stuart Jack, who was responsible for the work of the Special Police Investigation Team (SPIT) which was conducting Operation Tempura, suspended Jones almost 18 months ago on 27 March 2008.
The chief superintendent was accused of being involved in an alleged illegal entry by Lyndon Martin to the offices of Cayman Net News, where Martin worked at the time.
CS Jones was put under formal investigation on 15 May for possible misconduct in a public office and was not cleared until 1 May 2009 by former Acting Commissioner of Police James Smith, when he announced that no criminal charges would be laid against Jones and all inquiries were concluded.
Since then, Baines said, a review had been conducted to determine whether or not disciplinary action was warranted against Jones. Baines stated that, after considering the officer’s alleged administrative failings, he concluded that a disciplinary hearing would be disproportionate in light of the alleged breach of conduct. “Chief Superintendent Jones demonstrated great dignity during the most trying times, serving as a reminder to all that judgements as to innocence or guilt should only be made once all facts have been thoroughly investigated,” the commissioner added.
The speculation over Jones’ return caused some disquiet among the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) in May when some members of the police association had said he should not come back. One former police officer told CNS that members may even walk off the job if he returned.
In the wake of the announcement that the former Commissioner Kernohan and Jones had been cleared and the subsequent damages claims, Deputy Commissioner Ennis wrote to the press saying he had suffered injustice and laboured privately with the shock and disbelief for 15 months over what he has called the “reprehensible and egregious acts” that he says were brought against him by the former Commissioner Stuart Kernohan and others.
Netnewsgate trial set
(CNS): The trial of former Member of the Legislative Assembly and Cayman Net News reporter, Lyndon Martin, on charges in connection with Netnewsgate will begin on Monday, 31 August. Martin, who is charged with falsely accusing another person of a crime and doing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice, told CNS he was looking forward to having his day in court and clearing his name with regard to the alleged break-in to the offices of his former employer, Desmond Seales, and revealing details of the events that triggered Operation Tempura.
Martin was originally arrested in March of 2008 on the same day that Governor Stuart Jack announced to the Caymanian public that three senior RCIPS officers had been placed on ‘required leave’ and that there was an undercover UK Metropolitan special police investigation taking place in the Cayman Islands.
He was subsequently charged with some 17 counts relating to burglary and false allegations as it was alleged by the Scotland Yard team that Martin had falsely accused Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Ennis of a corrupt relationship with Desmond Seals, the proprietor of Cayman Net News, where Martin was working at the time as a reporter. In the ensuing 18 months, however, nearly all the charges against him were dropped leaving just two on the sheet, which will be heard before a jury on 31 August.
Since Martin’s arrest a number of key players in this particular part of the Operation Tempura investigation have left the island, including the senior investigating officer from the Special Police Investigation Team (SPIT) Martin Bridger and Richard Coy, who arrested Martin. Key witness John Evans, the Net News reporter who was also alleged to have unlawfully entered the premises of the paper where he worked at the time, has since returned to the UK.
The former police commissioner, Stuart Kernohan, who was sacked by the governor during this investigation, and former chief superintendent, John Jones, with whom Martin and Evans had shared their suspicions, have also since left the island. Both men were cleared by the previous acting commissioner, James Smith, but Kernohan has never returned to Cayman, and although John Jones was reportedly offered his job back, he has yet to take up his post.
While Bridger is not expected to return, Kernohan and Jones are both reportedly down as witnesses for the two week jury trial, along withJohn Evans, who told CNS via e-mail on Wednesday (19 August) that he would only return subject to guarantees from the appropriate people, including if necessary the governor, that they would take steps to ensure his safety.
Evans also indicated that he required “absolute protection and immunity from any malicious action that my former employer, or anyone acting on his behalf, may be planning.” Evans added that he had not yet received any such guarantees.
“I recognise that my presence is essential to Lyndon Martin getting a fair trial and I believe that I have a duty to him as a fellow journalist to attend. It is my opinion that our former employer has gone to great lengths to prejudice the judicial process,” Evans added. “I believe that both Lyndon and myself have issues relating to material published since 27 March 2008 that need to be raised with the RCIPS and look forward to the opportunity to do just that.”
The long awaited trial will be the second legal drama directly associated with Operation Tempura and Martin Bridger, the former Scotland Yard officer. Bridger brought the charges against Martin and was behind the suspension of Kernohan and John Jones, as well as the unlawful arrest of Justice Alex Henderson, who received $1.275 million from the CI government in damages following a judicial review, which found his arrest for misconduct in a public office was an unarrestable offence. The charges against Henderson also related to the alleged unlawful entry into Net News.
Bridger also charged Deputy Commissioner Rudolph Dixon with misconduct in a public office, and that trial is scheduled for September. RCIPS Inspector Burmon Scott was another victim of Bridger’s investigation and was arrested in connection with the charges made against Dixon. However, no charges were ever brought against Scott, who along with Kernohan now has pending legal action against both Bridger and Coy as well as the police commissioner.
The two week courtroom drama is expected to hear from a number of witnesses and reveal hitherto unknown details of the still mysterious Operation Tempura investigation, which was supposedly investigating police corruption and has cost the Cayman tax payer in excess of $6 million.
If you like this article, click here to find out how to support CNS
SPIT still a distraction
The irony of the governor’s recent appearance on the press briefing platform to tell us all to come forward and report what we know to the police in the wake of the recent horrific violence could not have been lost on those who have followed the news closely over the last 16 months.
It cannot be forgotten so soon that it was indeed Stuart Jack who originally brought in the officers from Scotland Yard and not only stood by but encouraged Martin Bridger, the former lead investigator of the Special Police Investigation Team, who was fundamental in demoralising the RCIPS and fuelling further mistrust between the service and the people.
The impact of Operation Tempura and the lingering secrets of so-called Operation Cealt have left the people of Cayman questioning and wondering exactly what the situation really is with the RCIPS — which remains a serious distraction for the police as they attempt to tackle what appears to be a growing crime wave.
Long a whipping boy for all of society’s ills, the local police in Cayman have suffered further and possibly irreparable damage from the last 16 months, even though not a shred of real evidence has been presented to the Cayman people about any of them being corrupt in anyway. In fact, given the ruling of Sir Peter Cresswell, the only police officer bending the law to suits his own ends seemed to be SIO Bridger.
It is time to bring this issue to a close, not just in order to save some cash for the Cayman purse but so the police can get on with their jobs untainted by secret and mysterious investigations.
Like any group of people anywhere in the world, there will be some who are less than honest, others who are incompetent and more who are lazy, but as the new Commissioner David Baines noted this week, anyone caught in corruption or leaking information to criminals should be sacked — simple. We don’t need undercover foreign cops lurking in the shadows, getting up to who knows what themselves. We need a commissioner who can take control and shine a light on incompetence and corruption if it’s there, not cover it up more as seems to have been the result of the SPIT’s work.
After several million dollars, numerous arrests and damages claims, the Cayman public is still utterly in the dark about the so-called police corruption that first Bridger and now Anne Lawrence has been overseeing, a distraction we can ill-afford. And worse, the governor has come to the public asking us to trust the police and tell what we know about dangerous gangsters, even though he himself, by his actions, appears to trust them even less than the wider public.
It was perhaps not the most prudent of moves for the governor, given what he has overseen, to add his voice to the campaign to get people to come forward. With five murders already on the booksthis year, three of which have been shootings, and following on from the toll of seven murders last year, the police need all the support they can get right now to get information on the recent gunmen, but more importantly to get to the bottom of the escalating violence.
There can be no doubt that the increase in violence and what appears to be the audacity of criminals will be at least influenced by the fact that they recognise the demoralisation in the RCIPS as a result of the arrival of SPIT and the mistrust of the service it has fuelled.
The new Commissioner David Baines seems to be under no illusions about the challenges he faces, but he needs to distance himself as much as possible from the impact Operations Tempura and Cealt have had. He would do well to be the top cop that is associated with bringing these clandestine investigations to a close and the removal of SPIT from the island in order to gain both the support of his officers and the community.
Sadly, Baines probably does not have that much choice about who he shares a public platform with, but as he gets his police boots further under the proverbial table and begins to assert his own authority a little more, he would do well to ask the governor to stay home next time so he can get on with building the confidence of the people in the RCIPS once again and get on with the job of getting these gangsters off our streets.
SPIT report heading for LA
(CNS): The details of exactly how much public money was spent by the Special Police Investigation Team (SPIT) under the leadership of SIO Martine Bridger is expected to be revealed at the end of next month when the auditor general passes his completed report to the LA. At that point, the report which Dan Duguay initiated in January of this year will become a public document and the Cayman people will be able to see how much was spent and where the cash went.
Duguay said yesterday (11 June) that he has finished his research and written the report but is now awaiting the final response comments from the various parties involved. He said that when the report is published, before the end of July, it will give the public a comprehensive picture of the financial implications of Operation Tempura.
“The report has to be seen by several different entities for comment on its findings and when that is completed I will be able to table the report in the Legislative Assembly,” Duguay said, adding that he was not at liberty to discuss those findings until it had been seen by the members of the LA. “I can say the report looks only at expenditures, but it will give the public a good understanding of the financial implicationsof SPIT.”
Duguay announced his intention at the beginning of the year to conduct a value for money study of Operation Tempura and SPIT because he said the persistent questions surrounding the investigation relating to how much had been spent and on what deserved some answers. “While we may not be able to comment on what Operation Tempura is doing, we can comment on how much is being spent,” said Duguay.
Duguay’s primary goal is purely to asses if the Cayman people have received value for money with this investigation and not to assess whether or not SPIT should have been here or how they conducted their work other than on a financial basis.
Although exact figures are not known, estimates have been as high as $10 million, but so far the public purse has actually paid out more then CI$6 million, which includes $1.27 million in costs and damages resulting from the unlawful arrest of Grand Court Judge Justice Alex Henderson. CNS learned through a Freedom of Information request that on top of that Bridger and the CI government’s costs in the case to defend Henderson’s judicial review amounted to around $500,000.
Cayman also faces further expenditure that Duguay’s report will not assess, including the forthcoming court cases against Lyndon Martin and the suspended Deputy Police Commissioner Rudolph Dixon. Furthermore, there are at least two outstanding suits that have been filed by the former Commissioner Stuart Kernonhan and former Police Inspector Burmon Scott.
Scott was arrested by SPIT and held overnight in lock down in May of last year before being released without charge for exactly the same offence as Henderson, which was found to be unlawful by Sir Peter Cresswell (the presiding independent Justice for the Henderson case) because the offence of misconduct in a public office is not one for which aperson can be arrested in the Cayman Islands. If the AG contests Scott’s claim, which was filed last month, it is likely that Cayman will witness another expensive court room drama as a result of SPIT.
Kernohan, who was suspended from his post and then subsequently sacked, has also filed a claim for damages for his treatment against Governor Stuart Jack on behalf of the Government of the Cayman Islands, Martin Bridger, the Acting Commissioner of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, and the Attorney-General of the Cayman Islands.
Following the recent declaration by former Acting Commissioner James Smith that there was to be no action taken against Kernohan, Kernohan filed a claim last month and stated that extraordinary revelations – heretofore unknown to the Cayman Islands public – involving the governor and high-ranking elected officials, would be revealed in the courtroom. Kernohan is claiming wrongful dismissal, that placing him on required leave was unlawful and that not permitting him to leave the island without permission “amounted to false imprisonment”.
Chief Superintendent John Jones who was also placed on required leave for over a year has now been cleared and has had his contracted renewed. He is expected to return to work shortly following his recovery in the wake of surgery and it is as yet unclear if Jones will also be making any financial claims.
Baines vows to re-anchor cops
(CNS): Rebuilding the community’s confidence and rebuilding the confidence inside the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service are top priorities for the new Police Commissioner, David Baines. He said that policing is all about service to the community and looking outward at how to make people feel safe, but with the recent events surrounding the service the RCIPS had been distracted and started looking inward away from the community. Baines, who is on a four-year contract, said he wanted to re-anchor the service and remind people what the police are really there for.
Speaking at his first media briefing, the new RCIPS top cop was introduced by Governor Stuart Jack, who said that the service had been through challenging times and it needed solid permanent leadership to steer the RCIPS forward. “I am very confident that we have chosen the right person and he will doexactly what we want him to do,” said Jack.
Baines said he was not here for an extended diving holiday but to work, and had already engaged in meetings where he had been briefed on the various concerns of police and public. “I am under no illusion as to the scale of the job that faces me to rebuild public confidence,” he said, adding that he would focus on community policing and was already identifying officers with potential that could be quickly placed in to position and help build bridges. Baines said he believed the quality of service was essential and he would be putting the community first. He said violent crimes, drugs, firearms and burglaries were the crime issues that affect quality of life and perceptions of safety.
He added that he also wanted to identify local police officers with the potential to move into the skills gaps that exist in the service and he was doing career reviews with all senior officers. He added that where he could not find the necessary skills internally he wanted to recruit new officers. He also spoke about reviewing the induction course for officers from other jurisdictions to create a common standard.
Baines also noted that there were infrastructure issues that had to be addressed as some of the police stations which were not fit for purpose, and in particular their lock up facilities would not meet the human rights standards required by the new constitution.
He said he was aware of the circumstances surrounding Operation Tempura and Operation Cealt and his responsibilities for the special police investigation team that were still here in Cayman. He also said he was confident that he was adequately supported with regard to him arriving and facing a writ against his post from former police commissioner Stuart Kernohan and former inspector Burmon Scott as a result of the Operation Tempura investigations.
He said that phase two of the special investigation, Operation Cealt, would run parallel with his desire to re-anchor the RCIPS and he was well aware that it would continue to be an issue for 6 to 12 months. “These things are going to run. They are already in train so we must deal with the corruption if it is there or clear up the perception of it,” Baines added. He said that there obviously had been concerns about the RCIPS and stones had to be turned over to look underneath and see what police were doing to keep the community safe.
Chief Secretary Designated Donovan Ebanks, PIE strategic advisor Peter Gough, and lawyer and partner with the Maitland Group Sara Collins, who had all been on the panel which selected the commissioner, offered their thoughts about why Baines had been selected. Ebanks stated that he felt Baines brought the right mix of experience and sensitivity to his community and was impressed with his track record. Gough said the panel had engaged in a number of focus groups before the interviews and Baines fitted the bill of what the community wanted, he said, adding that the panel was unanimous in their choice. “He was the best candidate for the job now he has to prove it,” Gough said.
Collins also talked about how much the focus and advisory groups had influenced the panel and had revealed how people wanted to feel safe again. “It was that intangible quality of someone who is passionate about making a difference and not just applying for a job, and Mr Baines gave that sense of making a difference, and I hope he lives up to it,” she added.
Top cops cleared of any crime
(CNS): Over one year since their suspension, the criminal investigations against the former Commissioner Stuart Kernohan (left) and Chief Superintendent John Jones have been dropped. According to a statement from Acting Police Commissioner James Smith, the Attorney General’s Chambers has reviewed the files and concluded that there is insufficient evidence to prefer any criminal charges against either Kernohan or Jones. Smith said he was in agreement with the decision but was waiting on a file from the special police investigation team (SPIT) to consider whether or not there was evidence for disciplinary action against Jones.
In what has become a regular occurrence with anything relating to Operation Tempura and SPIT, the statement regarding the decisions was circulated to the media late Friday afternoon. It followed an announcement some 30 minutes earlier from Kernohan’s spokesperson, David Legge, who said the former top cop was now considering taking civil action regarding damages. In his statement Kernohan, who has steadfastly maintained his total innocence since the beginning, lamented the whole situation, from the enormous cost of the investigation to the governor’s behaviour.
“It is unbelievable that it took 13 months to reach this conclusion which was blatantly obvious from the outset,” Kernohan said. “Jack was fully aware of the circumstances regarding the early stages of the enquiry having been briefed by myself and Chief Superintendent John Jones. He and Bridger were informed by the Chief Justice of his opinion on the entry to the Cayman Net News offices—that no criminal offense had been committed. I was not even in charge of the enquiry at that stage on 3 September, 2007, having asked Jack to allow me to stand down several days earlier.”
On 27 March, Jack accompanied by SIO Bridger told the local media in a specially called press briefing that Kernohan was not under investigation, but it has since become public knowledge that at the time he was already being investigated by SPIT. In late February 2008 and on 20 March Jack’s lawyer had petitioned the Chief Justice Anthony Smellie to obtain warrants to search the home and offices of Kernohan, which Smellie denied as he said there was no evidence to support the request.
“It has been an absolute disgrace. This high cost to the people of the Cayman Islands is not only measured in millions of dollars but also on the impact on law and order and the Caymanian reputation,” added Kernohan, who learned that the criminal investigation was closed through his attorney’s Campbells on Thursday. “My greatest regret is not being able to finish what I started with the fine officers in the RCIPS and the people of the Cayman Islands. Bridger has gone. Jack needs to follow him now.”
Smith, who will also be leaving the island next month, confirmed that Bridger is no longer employed as the SPIT Senior Investigating Officer and it is understood he left this island yesterday. Smith said Anne Lawrence from the UK Metropolitan Police, who was previously Bridger’s deputy, has taken over as leader of SPIT. “SIO Lawrence has been on island since January and is well placed to oversee this enquiry,” he said, adding that he would continue to oversee Operation Cealt.
There are also a number of concerns regarding the behaviour of Bridger during his investigation, cited by Sir Peter Cresswell the presiding Judge in the judicial review regarding Henderson’s case. Kernohan’s attorneys have also pointed out that the withholding of the Chief Justice’s rulings regarding the denial of the warrant requests, which was critical information exonerating in part Kernohan, constituted malice.
Kernohan’s spokesperson Legge noted that the question arises as to why the Governor, upon reading the Chief Justice’s ruling, did not immediately re-instate Kernohan to his post. He said instead, Governor Jack and SIO Bridger, with the knowledge that no criminal offense had taken place, began to explore the lesser common law offense of “misconduct in public office,” a decision which allowed Bridger to extend his stay in the Cayman Islands for many more months along with an expenditure of untold additional public funds, Legge noted.
During the investigation Kernohan left the Cayman Islands to be with his father, who was terminally ill in the UK. Following his departure and the passing of his father, Jack ordered Kernohan to return to Grand Cayman. However, Kernohan, through his attorneys, refused, contending this Governor had no authority or power under law to order him to return, since he had not beencharged with any crime or been placed under “house arrest.” On numerous occasions Kernohan’s attorneys reportedly asked Governor Jack’s counsel to cite in law where the Governor had lawful authority to restrict Kernohan’s travel or residence and according to today’s statement from Kernohan no legal basis for the demanding his to return to Cayman has been forthcoming.