ROAD TOWN, Tortola, BVI - Mr. Malone is also recommending that a police training school be established.

The former police chief, during an exclusive interview with VINO, said Government needed to send more police on overseas training and also lamented that even when police officers go overseas on scholarships, even when they spend their own money on developing themselves, they are not positioned in the force on returning.

“Yet at the end of all this they (Government) are saying that they (police) are not trained. What they should say is we have not trained you. They should give the right answer. And these officers that I am talking about are lawyers trained and returned to the police force and have not been able to contribute.”

Mr Malone reasoned that crime is very deleterious to the world’s society and that here it could affect tourism and the offshore finance industries in a major way. He explained that the offshore finance industry could be seriously affected if it is hit with a major scandal, especially one that could have been investigated by the local police.

“And that is why I have been constantly pushing for a police training school, a police training school not only to train the police but also to train customs and immigration officers, cadet corps members and prison wardens.

We need this facility but more than anything else, the police stand at the front of the criminal justice system and they are the gatekeepers, you have to restructure, you’ve got to train them and that we have not been doing a good job of.”

Malone recommended that the police use the British and American police training manuals as they are proven to be the best. He also suggested that the manuals be developed to suit the Caribbean system and noted that he would like to assist with that but it is a costly undertaking.

“They deal with the nuts and bolts of policing. There are four main manuals: Criminal Law and Procedure; Evidence and Procedure; Traffic Laws and Procedure and General Police Duties including Scientific Development.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Malone said he was currently working on setting up a criminal justice library and museum and later wants to also establish the first criminal justice college in the English speaking Caribbean.

“That is my goal and the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force will benefit because any programme that I am going to be running they would be able to attend,” he added.

Article taken from Virgin Islands News Online - http://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com