By Hayden Boyce - Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

Members of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, many of whom thought things would have gotten better under the British Government’s direct rule of this country, are now hopping mad because their situation has become worse.

Reports reaching The SUN indicate that morale in the Force has reached an all-time low, with the Force operating under a cloud of uncertainty and several officers having their allowances and benefits cut, on top of being constantly paid late and having to work under deplorable conditions and with inadequate equipment. 

In a lengthy, shocking to The SUN newspaper and which was written on behalf of members of the Police Force, the police said they have had enough and they want the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands to know about the “injustice that is being dished out against…our fine man and woman in uniform, who are being disrespected and treated like dirt. “

“While some may say some of them deserve it by the way some conduct themselves in public and given the reason turn of events with some of them, some of the others (police officers) are honest, hard working and caring people and do a good job of protecting and serving the public like they are sworn to do,” the letter stated.

“(We) have received certain information over the past couple of weeks about the way some Police officers are being treated, and frankly if it is proven to be true, the powers that be including the Commissioner of Police, the Governor or who ever, should look into the situation and find an immediate solution to the problem and call it what it actually is (because) it stinks,” the document added.

According to the letter, Police officers especially Marine Branch officers have not been paid their subsistence checks for months when they are sent to the islands to perform duties, or spend time out to sea for weeks.

“This cannot be right and should not be accepted in these modem times. These men and woman, like the Governor and others have said in the past, are the country's first line of defence in protecting our borders from illegal immigrants, drug smugglers, poachers and the like and this is the way that they're being treated. The Police Force doe's not provide food for these good officers when they go out to sea, so they are supposed to get an allowance of a certain amount a week before they go to sea to buy their own food, drinks and others rations, but every time they file for their substance none is forthcoming, and this has been so for months, (because it is) held up in the government treasury,” the letter continued.

It was noted that some officers have claims dating back over three to four months or more, some totaling to over $3,000 (three thousand dollars). This, according to the letter, means that the officers have to use their own money to buy food for their trip to sea, and in the case of officers traveling from Grand Turk to join the crew in Provo, they have to find money before they go to Provo for that week to buy food to feed themselves while in Provo.

“The only time that one would see any of these so called senior officers in Khaki is when these guys catch a Haitian boat. You would see this one guy in particular come out and pose for the camera for an interview trying to make it look as if he's doing the job, when in reality his men are doing the job and are left out there to hang out to dry,” the letter added

“When they (officers) use their own money, it’s months before they get their subsistence cheques to help offset any cost, inconvenience, or other debts they incur, or find themselves in. These cheques should be paid on time to help them out with added bills they incur having to pay to go to sea out of their own pockets for government work.”

The letter stated that the Marine Branch does not even have proper communication with their base when they venture far out on their patrols, and communication is said to be lost when they pass French Cay.

“The question is why is this so? Why don't they provide a satellite phone for these guys to use in case of an emergency? If they come under attack who can they contact for assistance? Case in point, the small black inflatable boat that the Police recently (supposedly got from the British) a few months back was repeatedly rammed, twice by a Dominican poaching boat trying to sink them in this (small inflatable rib) boat. One of the officers had to resort to drastic measures and draw his pistol to defend himself and his crew to save their lives by trying to disable the boat, or the Captain, and in the process the captain of the poaching boat got shot in his leg. But no one could be contacted from as far away as Bush Cay where this supposedly happened. On their return this fine officer faced a barrage of questions from his superiors and was investigated by CID like he was the criminal instead,” the letter revealed.

“Prior to this, there was another incident when the Police received information that a Go-Fast boat was supposed to come into Provo from Haiti to bring in illegal firearms for a certain well known criminal to conduct robberies with his young cronies in Provo. When these guys (officers) chased a Go-Fast boat fitting the description of this boat for about two miles, or more they refused to stop and accelerated even more faster in an attempt to evade the Police and one of the officers shot a warning shot into the air in an attempt to get them to stop, and they did stop after this. They were boarded and searched, but nothing illegal was found and they were allowed to leave after the search. However when they got back into port this officer was grilled, investigated and they all had to write reports on the incident and this officer almost lost his job for protecting citizens,” the letter continued.

“Maybe one day these guys might just decide if they don't get paid, not to go to sea for a week or so and see what would happen. I can bet they would start getting their checks on time. They can't fire you all for sticking up for your rights. How can you realistically expect these guys to work if they do not get paid their subsistence on time? Would any of us work without pay? I guess not. For the few years that I've lived here in these islands as my new home, I have known the commissioner of Police to be a fair, but serious and honest man, and I have been informed that he has approved these guys subsistence checks, but apparently the hold up is with the treasury with instructions from someone not to pay these checks,” according to the letter.

“We would like to know who that someone is, because these officers need to be paid. I believe that there is someone, or some persons that are trying to make the Commissioner of Police look like the bad apple. But we know that when they come some of them always try to do so, but we have to wake up and stop falling asleep on them, or they will always try to take over. Tell me where else in the world doe's the common criminal, or person on the street have the Governor's private number to call him and make complaints against the Police/Immigration officers? This sort of thing should not be allowed, or entertained by the Governor or anyone else in authority.”

The letter went on to say: “Mr. Commissioner/Governor another lost of life cannot be lost before you do something about this situation, remember Constable Prince Smith? These guys deserve better than this sort of treatment. They deserve the very best in equipment to be able to protect us all, including the local fisherman who sometimes have to pull up anchor and run from poachers. These fishermen depend on the Police patrols as well to keep them safe. One might ask where is the Commissioner of Police, the Marine Commanders, or the Governor in all of this, doe's anyone care about the welfare of these guys enough to say this is enough, it has to stop. These guys must be paid and looked after, because these are the guys who are out there protecting us day and night. While you are sleeping in the comfort of your homes they are out there on a boat taking turns on watch 24/7 and sleeping, when they get a chance in cramped quarters in a small bonk about (24") twenty four inches in width in rough seas and foul weather.

“They do this in a boat that is not functioning properly with a lot of faults because government supposedly can't find the money to get them fixed properly, and without adequate equipment to do their job effectively, these guys are exposed to all kind of dangers, be it from sickness from most of the illegal immigrants, poachers, or drug smugglers at sea. They should be commanded for the hard work they do, in light of the fact that they don't get paid they still go out to sea. Because if they don't go, charges will be brought against them internally.”

The latter said that on South Dock a few months ago when they brought in over (100) Haitian migrants that they had rescued off Molasses Reef about two miles southeast of West Caicos and another (17) dead bodies, the officers did this without complaining about the lack of safety equipment such as gloves, face masks, or proper clothing to wear for those sorts of situations. Some of the bodies were apparently in bad condition from being mauled by sharks. 

“It had to take someone with strong stomachs to do this. Even some of the medical staff had trouble coming to grips with what they saw, but guys stomached it all, as they always do. People had to lend some of these guys money until they get paid to pay them back in order for them to basically survive in Provo for the week during their tour of duty. This Mr. Commissioners/Governor can't be right to have your officers having to resort to this.

God bless a Good Samaritan like Mr. Donovan Dunbar, who extend a monthly credit to these guys from his small water front restaurant for these guys to get something to eat at times when cash flow is low. Tell me Commissioner/Governor, how do you expect they guys to work and perform under these conditions, this in it self can cause a lack of motivation. Tell me is this the same treatment other civil servants get when they travel on government duties, or is it just the Police,” the letter ended.