Police Commissioner Addresses Issue Of Domestic Violence

Commissioner of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force Mr. Vernon Malone believes there is a lot of work to be done by the various authorities in the BVI to combat the escalating problem of domestic violence. He was asked in a May 31st press conference to defend the criticisms that have been levelled at the Police for their apparent lack of response to domestic violence cases.

Mr. Malone promised to address the issue in further detail shortly, but reaffirmed his view that domestic violence is wrong and said the Police are committed to taking what action they can take against batterers. He noted that the Police have developed a protocol document in response to this serious problem. "I have given directions to the Police that persons who batter will be prosecuted and there have been many prosecutors and I have had many battered women come to my office asking me not to prosecute and I have not acceded to any of those wishes." The Police Chief said the Family and Juvenile Department of the RVIPF, which is headed by an Inspector, which is specifically responsible for dealing with all matters relating to domestic violence and matters relating to the family and child abuse. He said there are plans to introduce a night shift to supplement the existing day shift in this department, but he said the entire Police force will respond to any domestic violence reports. "I do not wish to comment on the matter on Virgin Gorda because it is sub judice at this time, but I will be commenting on it at a later stage," he told The Island Sun. He added that before anyone makes comments and spew acrimony and accusations against the Police, it would be wise to ask the Police what happened. "And if we made any mistakes, we will admit them and correct them and we will continue to seek to improve our procedures in dealing with domestic violence."

Mr. Malone said the Officers in the Family and Juvenile Department benefited from a four-month raining programme in social work in Jamaica, so that those frontline Officers can understand the environment in which they work and be sensitive to the issues involved. But he insisted that tackling domestic violence is not only a Police problem, but also a community problem, one that relates to various government departments. He argued that the Police cannot be expected to provide "safe-houses" for battered women, but will do all it can to assist.

"I will say to those persons who are making criticisms of the Police come and join us, let us all work together in solving the problem...to the benefit of the community and I stand willing to work with anyone or any group towards this objective," the Commissioner challenged. He said he would shortly be publishing an article on domestic violence outlining the Police's posture on the issue. Referring to the Hannif Report on Domestic Violence and commenting on an argument that Officers do not carry out the guidelines on this issue, Mr. Malone stated that the consultant conducted many seminars with the Police. "If you look at the Police statistics, you will see clearly that we have been advising, prosecuting many batterers here in the BVI, so the message has filtered through to the Officers."

He said there are also many copies of the protocol, which has been a part of their training programme, in the Police library. "Why would be sending Officers away to Jamaica to train in social work if it wasn't filtering down?" He admitted that they can do with more training in the area, but insisted that there has been a shift of philosophy within the Police Force. He said when he joined the force, they routinely sent back home a battered women, saying that it wasn't a matter for the Police. "That is no longer the case; many, many cases have been put together, many, many persons have been prosecuted." However, Commissioner Malone said there is an area that is left largely untouched. "Who is counselling the batterer? That is not a Police function! Who is providing a safe house for the battered woman after she has come to the Police station with her three children at 11:00 in the night? Who is looking after traumatized children after they have been witnessing the brutal beating of their mother?"

According to him, these are the issues that need to be addressed and they cannot be addressed by the Police action only. He said we need a concerted effort to do that. "Of course, the Police have a role to play and we are not giving up our role...we will prosecute, but prosecution is not the only answer...and fighting with the Police is no answer! Come and let us work together!"