THE SEEMING STRIFE within the Royal Barbados Police Force coupled with the current economic hardship is a “recipe for trouble” for Barbados.
Former Barbados Labour Party Member of Parliament for St Michael West, Reverend Joseph Atherley, said he was concerned this would result in decreased morale and a loss of public confidence in the force, something which he said needed to be addressed as soon as possible.
“In times of economic hardship there is also an increase in serious crime, so with all this taking place at the same time there are unsettled issues of leadership in the police force . . . [it] will impact on the morale in the force and public confidence in the force if they are not addressed,” he said.
The dispute between the top brass in the force, namely Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin and Deputy Commissioner Bertie Hinds was recently made public when it was revealed that the Police Services Commission (PSC) was conducting a probe into Dottin’s professional conduct and had recently filed charges of misconduct against him.
The PSC has also been probing complaints made by Hinds against Dottin over alleged mismanagement of the force.
This has resulted in the PSC recommending both Dottin and Hinds be replaced and instead given senior administrative positions in the civil service.
It recommended senior superintendents Erwin Boyce and Mark Thompson take over the two top posts over current Assistant Commissioners of Police Tyrone Griffith, Oral Williams, Emmerson Moore and Seymour Cumberbatch.
In his defence, Dottin filed for an affidavit for a High Court injunction against the PSC, where he accused the commission of not acting even-handedly when dealing with issues submitted by Hinds and himself, noting that “they invariably act on those of Deputy Commissioner Hinds”.
“. . . I am of the view that these allegations of misconduct, apart from being untrue, are not of a serious nature and are in fact trivial,” Dottin added in the affidavit. (CA)
