BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – COMMISSIONER OF POLICE Celvin ‘CG’ Walwyn is calling on the recently-elected Team Unity Government to address the demotion of Rosemary Isles from Acting Superintendent to Inspector, noting that it reeks with the smell of victimisation.
“It is up to the government to see through the mirage, and reinstate the officer to the Acting Superintendent position and let her continue to serve the public through the integrity of her office in holding officers accountable.”
CoP Walwyn made this pronouncement, among others, in a release sent to the media this morning (Mar. 16).
Walwyn categorically stated that he was not officially notified by the men who made the decision in his absence to demote Isles, who he noted is a qualified female officer in the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF).
He claimed that Isles is the only person in the Federation trained to head a recently-established unit called Office of Professional Standards.
“This office investigates complaints against police officers and looks for corruption within the Force. As a result of the effectiveness of this unit under her supervision, the public for the first time is seeing police officers held accountable for their actions. This new way of holding officers accountable for their actions is sending shivers through the Police Force because records are now being kept. Some officers have been terminated and some are pending criminal prosecution because of these investigations. It is ironic that attempts are afoot to remove her from that office. Were that to happen, the Police Force will regress,” Walwyn said.
The Top Cop, who is currently on vacation, spoke to an Internet publication he read concerning Isles’ demotion, which he noted contained false information.
“It was said that her acting appointment was incorrectly done and a decision was made by the high command and personnel to demote her back to her substantive rank. That is an untruth that is being fed to the public. I am part of the high command and the high command never met to discuss the demotion. I have written documentation from some of the other members denying any involvement in the decision and no knowledge of the demotion until it was voiced in the streets. That is documented.”
He is of the view that the decision was made in his absence by other members of the High Command and that the Government would have to address the situation because it was made aware of the victimisation that was brewing against Isles, even before her demotion.
“I am praying that this can be mediated. Women must be respected for their ability to contribute,” he added.
Walwyn explained that during his tenure as Commissioner he had recommended a number of promotions and claimed to have followed due process.
“Let it also be known that in my time, I have recommended promotions in the same manner of giving the officer a letter and then sending a suggestion for promotion through the Anti-Crime Unit for onward submission to the Minister in Charge of the Anti-Crime Unit for his approval. If the Minister agrees with the suggestion of my office, the document is sent through the process to include the Police Service Commission. In the meantime, the officer would wear the badges of rank until the letter from the Governor General is returned and the officer can officially remove the acting from the title.”
He made reference to a large number of officers who were promoted under his command and that quite recently two Acting Superintendents were promoted in the same process as Isles, but they are still wearing their rank.
“Fourteen (14) persons were processed this way. Eleven (11) of them were approved at the end of the process. As recently as three weeks ago, two more officers were promoted the same way, yet they still serve in their acting capacity even though the Acting Superintendent was demoted. Again, she was demoted but the last two officers recommended for promotion in the same way, are still acting in their capacity. Bear in mind that fourteen officers were waiting from 18 months to almost two years and kept their uniforms and acting rank until approved.”
He declared that in Isles’ promotion, she had successfully completed her written test and passed the interview board “in the top three of the women and in the top five of the men”.
Walwyn said it is a clear case of victimisation and that Isles has been the subject of victimisation attempts before; a matter which was addressed by him.
“It is ironic that as soon as I took leave, the plan was put into action. I notified Prime Minister Harris and Attorney General Byron about the situation before I left the island. It still happened,” he added.
The Commissioner is also calling on the Government to address a related matter, which he said is “lurking”. That matter, he claimed, pertains to a document within which was Isles’ recommendation for promotion.
“The document that was sent by my office to the Anti-Crime Unit is missing. There is proof that document was authorised to be sent on to the next level. Yet, the form is missing. There are copies of the original form that was sent, instead of letting the process move forward, according to the internet publication, persons chose to demote the Acting Superintendent. It was done without my knowledge as Commissioner of Police. Where is the form?”
He is adamant that Isles was victimised and noted that she is a prime example of the gender bias that the Force must shed.
The Top Cop informed that the RSCNPF, for 53 years, had never promoted a female to the rank of Superintendent, but one of them had achieved that along with three Inspectors under his leadership.
“This recommendation was done in the same manner as Acting Superintendent Isles-Joseph. In the Force’s 54th year, a second Inspector was moved to Acting Superintendent pending approval by the Police Service Commission in the same manner as all the other persons who have been appointed under my leadership. Two Assistant Commissioners of Police were also promoted the same way. I also got the Nevis Superintendent and Assistant Commissioner of Police in Charge of Crime confirmed the same way.
“If indeed I erred as is being intimated by some to justify this victimisation and gender biasness of the Acting Superintendent, then all fourteen persons who have been promoted under my tenure, should be reversed to their substantive rank.”
He said the Government needs to reinstate Acting Superintendent Isles and let the process move forward, and that the Administration also needs to reprimand “those who mislead them about the meeting and decision of the high command as some of us in the high command were never told of such a meeting or decision”.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF'S NOTE: SKNVibes humbly apologises to Inspector Gwendoly Duncan for the inadvertent posting of her photograph instead of that of Inspector Rosemay Isles.
