H.E. Reveals Results Of Police Inquiry Into V.G. Domestic Violence Incident
An internal inquiry into the police handling of the incident on Virgin Gorda some months ago in which two women from the Dominican Republic were physically abused by two local men, has indicated that more should be done at the national level to deal with the increasing problem of domestic violence in the British Virgin Islands. His Excellency Governor Frank Savage revealed the findings on Thursday July 27th.
Since the incident in May, members of the community staged a march to the Governor's Office and presented a petition, signed by over 1800 residents, demanding, among other things an investigation and insisting that Police Officers are trained in handling such incidents. A Coalition of Concerned Citizens has been leading a charge to ensure that the situation is not swept under the carpet. They recently announced that after several meetings with government authorities, they were not happy with the lack of progress on the issue.
Governor Savage has now said that a conference would shortly be held in conjunction with other related organizations in the BVI, to get their input and discuss the protocols the Police have developed. "I have great admiration for some of the voluntary groups' work in this area and they require the continued support of government and I'm anxious, as Governor, to ensure that there are no areas of concerns between these groups and the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force." He said they are all working for the same objective and it is his hope that they can clear up any misunderstandings that might have occurred. His Excellency said some of the issues raised by the Coalition are being addressed. "We can't expect overnight solutions, but through talking to each other, I shall be disappointed if we don't make some substantial improvements," he said.
From the results of the internal enquiry ordered by Commissioner of Police Vernon Malone, Governor Savage highlighted four points, but indicated that on the evidence produced, he sees no grounds for disciplinary action. He pointed out that there is some evidence that on the night, the Police did not respond as quickly as may have been possible, but he contended that there were circumstances that may have confused some of the witnesses, making it appear that the Police arrived much later than they did. There has been criticism of the fact that the Police did not charge the two accused on the night in question. The Governor noted that it was a difficult call for the fairly junior Officers on duty, but hastened to add that the following morning, when the Commissioner and senior officers at headquarters heard about the situation, they acted promptly and properly.
"I'm satisfied, as a result of the enquiry, that there was no evidence of malfeasance on behalf of the Police, that the Officers concerned handled it according to their experience, but that as a result of our inquiry into the matter, I believe that some training is necessary, not just for those Officers but for any Officer who might encounter this type of violence within the community," he told reporters.
Police Commissioner Vernon Malone reiterated the stance of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force in condemning domestic violence and pledging to do all it can to remove this ill from our community. He said they have taken a number of measures so far in the area of training. He said several Officers have received or are receiving training in Jamaica, while others will attend courses at the HLS Community College.
"The broad membership of the Police Force is being subjected to training in domestic violence and we want to continue this. We think it is important for Police Officers to understand very clearly the serious injury that can be caused to the community by this type of activity," the Commissioner stated. He said the RVIPF will sponsor a conference sometime in September to discuss issues of domestic violence. He said all the stakeholders will be invited to participate and make their contribution. "From this meeting, we hope that we would receive information that will inform our protocol document that we have in place at this time."
On the Virgin Gorda issue, the Commissioner stated that one of the major objectives of the RVIPF is continuous development and continuous improvement. He said whenever there is an incident or an issue, they will dissect it and see how they can learn from it. "There are many lessons that the Force will learn from that incident on Virgin Gorda and in addition, it will become a major training tool in our fight against domestic violence."
The investigation was conducted by an officer at the rank of Chief Inspector of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force. Police Officers and members of the public, in particular the stakeholders, were interviewed and statements were recorded. The report will not be released to the public. It was internal and has been submitted to the Governor.