I have spent the past two days contemplating whether to respond to the article in a local media house captioned: ‘235 cop complaints made but no officers fired’. As Commissioner I truly appreciate the public interest in this topic, but wish to provide clarity on what is missing from the initial reporting. It is important to understand that not all complaints by the public against police officers are misconduct so gross or unbecoming of an officer that the only available sanction is dismissal. The headline was quite unambiguous and so to provide clarity on the matter, I will say as follows:
Over the past 5 years there have been 24 officers whose employment with RCIPS ended following investigations into misconduct, 19 of which occurred under my tenure as commissioner. The Office of the Ombudsman does not have insight into these numbers, as disciplinary matters are an internal matter for the police. As Commissioner of Police and holder of internal matters involving discipline, I was NOT approached prior to the dissemination of the recent article in the media, and so was not able to provide accurate information prior to the article’s publication.
This article has struck at the heart of policing in the sense that it is highly suggestive that police officers are not held accountable for their conduct. This could not be further from the truth. The RCIPS has a very clear and unambiguous policing style; one which is caring, collaborative and accountable. This is our organisational culture and resonates in every officer and support staff. Our officers and support staff come to work every day knowing the vision ‘Making Cayman Safer’ and strive to achieve this through our policing style.
I offer this clarification, not in an attempt to assert that the RCIPS is an organisation beyond reproach, but to demonstrate that we are accountable, with a continued commitment to upholding our integrity and professionalism, and to ensuring that those who are to remain as part of the service, are those who share these values. In simple terms, it is my intent for the community to have a “squeaky clean” police service, because you deserve it. Yes, police officers are humans and we will make mistakes, but the key is that we own those mistakes and then look to correct them. We have our flaws, and I have never shied away from this, but we are certainly not inept, and this is demonstrated by our performance over the past two years within the criminal justice system where the courts are stretched, criminal indictments have never been higher, the prison is full of serious and dangerous criminals, and our detection rate is an envy among police forces regionally and internationally.
This article, which has generated significant public sentiment about police credibility, and followed up by additional articles offering assessments or opinions on RCIPS’ performance and effectiveness, has resonated across the entire police service and has impacted on staff morale. Meanwhile, officers continue performing their duty, at times even confronting hostile individuals, and such inaccuracy is unhelpful and possibly only emboldens criminals’ behavior towards the police.
I will continue to emphasize that Policing is a noble profession, where officers come into contact with members of the public multiple times each day. In fact, on average, officers have had over 35,000 contacts with the public each year for the past five years, and over 175,000 total for that period. In this context, 235 complaints means that just over 0.1% of our contacts with the public have resulted in complaints. There are times where officers are faced with hostility, aggression, and violence, and we have seen over the past three years that there have been 86 incidents where officers have been assaulted in the course of their duties. Nevertheless, we continue to encourage and enforce a culture of professionalism and integrity, as we serve our communities daily.
Kurt Walton
Commissioner of Police