Tuesday, November 3rd – His Excellency the Governor David Pearey announced today that a recruitment exercise targeting highly experienced United Kingdom (UK) based senior police officers has commenced to fill the vacant position of Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).
The Governor stated that “the RVIPF rightly requires the best available talent to fill this critical position and a thorough selection process has been put in place to ensure that a high quality candidate is ultimately appointed.”
Following the departure of the previous deputy Philsbert Alfred on medical grounds, the post of DCP was advertised earlier this year across the Caribbean. The Police Service Commission undertook extensive interviews with each applicant for the post. After giving full consideration of the outcome, including by the National Security Council as required by the Constitution, it was determined that at this juncture none of those candidates could be selected for appointment into the Deputy Commissioner rank.
The Governor further stated, “Although they may feel disheartened, I commend all of the candidates who initially applied for this position. I remain confident that in the future this position can and will be filled by an internal candidate. Over the coming months, I look forward to one of our own senior RVIPF officers emerging successful in the newly created and vital position of Assistant Commissioner of Police.”
The Deputy Commissioner of Police, once in post, will support the Commissioner of Police in the achievement of the force’s strategic plan and the delivery of ongoing operational priorities. The appointment of a UK officer into the Deputy Commissioner post will be for a defined period of three years. This three year contract period will enable existing senior officers to benefit from the mentorship of the Deputy Commissioner, thereby preparing the best officers from the RVIPF to take up this challenging post in the future. The UK is being targeted as the source for the Deputy Commissioner appointment because of the already close ties between the RVIPF and the UK and because the UK is recognised as having a highly developed police service which uses cutting edge policing practices.
British Virgin Islands News