BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A new twist to the Rosemary Isles-Roberts saga has surfaced today (Mar. 18) as a release from the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, which was stated to have “gone to the dogs”, implied that Commissioner Celvin ‘CG’ Walwyn had lied about her promotion to Acting Superintendent.
The release, headlined “Response to Commissioner’s statements”, noted that it was in response to some unfortunate statements Commissioner Walwyn made during an interview on 106.5 Freedom FM ‘Issues’ programme on Monday, March 9, 2015.
“It must be pointed out that quite a number of unfortunate statements were made. These have been reduced to a transcript and will be forwarded to the Police Service Commission for their attention and appropriate action. As such, this response will for the most part focus on some of the comments made in relation to Inspector Rosemary Isles-Roberts and her promotions within the Police Force,” the release said.
Among the statements made by Commissioner Walwyn was: “The Police Force has gone to the dogs.”
It was reported that on Saturday, November 15, 2014, Inspector Isles-Roberts was promoted to Acting Superintendent. However, it was also reported that sometime last week, she had received a letter which instructed her to cease wearing the badges of Superintendent because there was no documentation from the Police Service Commission or Human Resources Department about her promotion.
Following that, Commissioner Walwyn spoke out on the issue at the local radio station and followed up with a press release disseminated to various media houses in the Federation.
While being interview by the radio station via telephone, he said that Isles-Roberts was victimised and that it was a clear case of gender bias.
“She was victimized! Basically, based on gender bias also, and removed, when I sent the documentation down to Government Headquarters the same way I sent everybody else’s. No different! Sent down to the Prime Minister, which is the old Prime Minister, which he said that he signed to have approved.
He continued: “The problem is, because of the fiasco that went on at Government Headquarters with people ransacking people's office, we cannot find the document or maybe somebody has the document and is hiding it; but I have my copy that I gave to her. We have a picture of Deputy Commissioner Liburd giving her that document, so I don't know where or how they can say they don't know that she was promoted.”
The release however indicated that the Force does not victimise or discriminate and is bound by the Constitution and Laws of the land.
“The Royal St Christopher and Nevis Police Force wishes to make it unequivocally clear that we are a professional organisation. We are bound by the Constitution and the Laws of the Federation and as such we operate within the four corners of the Law. We do not condone nor practice discrimination or victimization; rather we promote equality for all.”
The release also informed that contrary to what Walwyn said, no Commissioner of Police could promote a member of the Force above the rank of Station Sergeant.
“It must be made unmistakably clear that a Commissioner of Police cannot promote a Police Officer above the rank of Station Sergeant. The procedure to promote an Inspector up to the rank of Superintendent of Police is governed by section 12 of the Police Act, 6 of 2003.
Section 12 of the Police Act, 6 of 2003 states: “Any appointment to the Police Force of a person to the rank of Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, and Inspector shall be made by the Governor-General, acting in accordance with the recommendation of the Commission.”
The release, in its explanation of the above mentioned, noted that if the Commissioner of Police wishes an Inspector to be promoted to Superintendent, he/she should make the appropriate recommendation to the Police Service Commission via the Permanent Secretary responsible.
“If the Police Service Commission is in approval with the recommendation of the Commissioner of Police, the recommendation is then sent on to the Governor-General for his/her approval. The final stage is an appointment in the form of an instrument signed by the Governor-General, all of which is reflected on the Civil Service P/8 Form. This appointment may take the form of an acting appointment or it may be a confirmation,” the release added.
It however claimed that the statements made by Commissioner Walwyn “are regrettable and the Royal St Christopher and Nevis Police Force wishes to reassure the general public home and abroad that we are a professional organisation that promotes equality before the law and fair treatment of the Officers of the rank and file”.
Rosemary Isles-Roberts had joined the Police Force on October 8, 1996 as a Constable and is said that her upward mobility has been one of the fastest in the Force.
She was promoted from Constable to the rank of Corporal on June 1, 2009 and then from Corporal to the rank of Sergeant on August 1, 2011, after which she was promoted to Inspector on February 2, 2014 and, as stated by the release, “On November 15, 2014 Inspector Rosemary Isles-Roberts was asked to carry the rank of Acting Superintendent.”
This clearly indicates that Isles-Roberts was not promoted to Acting Superintendent but asked to carry the rank.
Also, what is worthy to note, is that while Commissioner Walwyn claimed that Isles-Roberts was promoted on November 15, 2014, it was 10 days after he had written to the Police Service Commission for approval.
“On November 25, 2014 the Commissioner of Police wrote to the Police Service Commission seeking approval for Inspector Rosemary Isles-Roberts to be promoted and appointed to the rank of Superintendent. Neither the Police Service Commission nor the Governor-General has had the benefit of any recommendation for her; hence she was never promoted nor appointed to Acting Superintendent of Police,” the release said.
It further said that on March 5, 2015 she was asked to wear the appropriate badges of rank for Inspector, her substantive rank, which is the normal procedure in this case.
