Work of UK Digital Team will help speed up the process of getting Police Records

Sherrica Thompson

Staff writer

#TurksandCaicos, November 24, 2022 – A Digital Government Team from the UK is now in Turks and Caicos and among the issues their support will un-kink for the islands, is the “embarrassing and appalling” length of time it takes to secure character certificates or police records.

The premier agreed with the scathing reviews for the pace at the Criminal Records Office of the Police Department as he called the process of applying and waiting, a  frustrating issue that many Turks and Caicos Islanders and residents face.

“I can tell you that every effort is being made and has been made in order to cure that ill specifically,” he said.

The long wait for police records was one of the many questions posed at the Public Meeting in Providenciales on Monday, November 21. It was no surprise the matter came up.  It has been a hot button subject for years now, and in recent times the system to get the document needed for everything from a job to travel to security clearance to work permits has been gruelling.

One resident even described the system as ‘backward’ as she recalled being able to get a police record in two weeks back in 1994. However, in recent times, it takes approximately four months to get a receipt for a police record and about six to seven months to get the document, which is only valid for six months.

In response to the resident’s query, Premier Misick said the government is making strides in rectifying the issue.

Adding that, “I can tell you today, as we speak, Digital Government UK landed here on the weekend. I was in a meeting for hours today, and I had meetings with a number of government ministries and departments to look at how we could start to deliver on some of these services that the public should be able to sit at home and procure for themselves.”

While pointing out that even two weeks is a “long time to wait for a police record,” Misick outlined two initiatives that he said the government had started that will see the issue fixed soon.

“Some practices have grown where you need a police record just for everything in this country, and that is the first thing that is being fixed,” he stated, noting that “you shouldn’t have to require a police record for every activity that you’re going to do.”

The Premier also revealed that a document is on its way to the cabinet.

“The Minister of Technology for Information can speak to this, but there is a paper on its way to cabinet for the 9th of December, by which time we hope to have feedback from the government of the UK to try to fix this problem,” Misick explained.

However, until this issue is rectified, residents and islanders will still have to continue to grapple with the long waiting period they currently face to get a police record in the TCI.