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| NEWS > 23 April 2007 |
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Trinidad Police Association he
Port of Spain, 14 Dec. 05 [AlterPresse] --- President of the Police Association, Cedric Neptune, has welcomed the call by Desmond Allum, SC, for an independent police complaints commission.
“We welcome it as an organisation. From where we sit we have nothing to hide,” Neptune said yesterday.
At a forum on ethics hosted by UNC political leader Winston Dookeran at the Centre of Excellence on Sunday, Allum made the call for the independent commission, free from the practice of policemen probing their counterparts accused of wrongdoing.
Allum said there could... Read more
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Cayman Net News, Cayman Island
23 April 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Cayman islands: Progress in po
Two items of police news were published last week; the first relating to the conviction and sentencing of a Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) officer who was caught on camera accepting a bribe, and the second relating to a decline in serious crime in the country.
Fortunately, rampant official corruption has never been much of a problem in the Cayman Islands – it is safe to say that unlike many other countries in the region and worldwide, things get done in the civil service without having to grease someone’s palm.
Yes, there have been suspicions of large-scale corruption in relation to real estate deals and the like, but none of these have ever resulted in criminal prosecutions.
Similarly, there were fairly persuasive accusations of money changing hands at the time of the infamous status grants in 2003, but nothing that was ever capable of proof sufficient for us to publish.
At the other end of the scale, Cayman being such a small community, everyone tends to know someone that can resolve traffic tickets before a summons is ever issued. It is also observed, that even the recent batch of overseas officers who have joined the service, have come to terms that they can enforce the laws of the land without being defined as brutish.
Typically, however, in cases where some who may have been let off for driving infractions, this has been accomplished more on the basis of personal favours than of money changing hands, as was the case of the recently convicted officer who was caught during a covert police surveillance operation accepting money from a member of the public in relation to traffic violations.
As the Commissioner of Police Stuart Kernohan pointed out, no police force can be completely immune from unacceptable behaviour and corruption, but at least this recent prosecution demonstrates a willingness on the part of the RCIPS to deal with it in a forthright and unequivocal manner when it is uncovered.
We hope that this will send a clear and unmistakable signal to all public servants that our small community will not tolerate corruption.
The Commissioner has expressed his commitment that any allegation or information the public provides regarding corrupt activity will be investigated fully and will be treated with the utmost confidentiality.
This is particularly heartening to hear from Mr Kernohan, who no doubt have won the respect of his officers and brought a significant amount of order to the RCIPS and peace of mind to all of the residents of these Islands.
We therefore encourage everyone to report such suspicions and other antisocial behaviour to the appropriate authorities, and this newspaper will lend its weight to the process as our contribution to keeping good order.
In the meantime, according to figures released by the RCIPS, serious crime in the Cayman Islands fell by some 14 per cent during the first quarter of 2007.
This is indeed encouraging news, especially when an effort on the part of the RCIPS to seize unlicensed firearms is reportedly paying off, with more people being caught in possession of weapons.
Mr Kernohan and his officers are to be congratulated for achieving this further decrease against the backdrop of an already significant decrease in 2006.
As expected, however, with increased enforcement efforts, the numbers of traffic offences have risen sharply, but this represents more offenders getting caught than any increase in the absolute numbers of offences.
Again, these efforts are to be applauded and encouraged. It is interesting to note that increased enforcement appears to be having the desired effect in relation to seatbelt offences, which are significantly down.
Doubtless, the recent prosecution and conviction in relation to “fixing” traffic tickets will also mean that more such offences will actually find their way onto the official record without being “lost” in the meantime.
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