Astwood Rejects Foreign Interim Commissioner Appointment, Advocates for Locals

Dana Malcolm ‘

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, February 23, 2024 – “Hell no” would have been the response from Edwin Astwood, Opposition leader, to the prospect of hiring a foreigner to the position of interim acting Police Commissioner; instead, he brought out a list of locals the Governor should have considered.

“I have nothing against the individual [hired]––but what I am saying is we have 16 top right ranked Turks Islanders,” he continued, “and if I was a part of any meeting–– concerning this acting post and bringing in someone from the outside, I would say no.  In fact, I would say hell no.”

Astwood gave his reasons:

“I strongly believe that promoting Islanders from within to the position of commissioner is crucial. Internal promotions foster a sense of loyalty and commitment among the department ranks. Officers, who worked their way up through the organization, have a deep understanding of its culture, values, and operational procedures,” he said.

The Leader of the People’s Democratic Movement was speaking after the funeral of the late Jayden Joshua Smith, five days after UK national Chris Eyre was appointed to the role of interim acting commissioner following the announcement that the man who was hired for the police commissioner post would be unable to take on the job until May, for medical reasons. The opposition leader believed those in charge namely: Washington Misick, Turks and Caicos Premier and Daleeni Daniel-Selvaratnam, TCI Governor should have considered locals for the post.

”You cannot tell me, looking at these 16 names of the top brass of the police, at the level of inspectors and up, that no one from these 16 can at least act as Acting Commissioner until the Commissioner comes here,” said Edwin Astwood.

Citing what he described as the abundance of skilled officers, Astwood chided Washington Misick for allowing the appointment.

”I am disappointed in the Premier and the Ministers; in whatever meeting they had, for not representing our people, I surely would have.” He continued, “I was very disappointed at the House of Assembly on Thursday when I heard members—afraid to come to the defense of our people in this position.”

Astwood also pointed out that it was not unusual for the country to have a local commissioner, and the record of the last 14 years where the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) had been under a foreign national. Citing the government’s desire for results, he said,

”[In] fourteen years, have you seen law enforcement and crime fighting and prevention getting better, getting worse, or has it stayed the same?”

“We have had commissioners and activity commissioners from the Turks and Caicos in the past, did we get results? I would say yes. We’ve had commissioners and deputy commissioners from outside; did we get results? We gave them 14 years, and we’re still saying that we need to bring someone from the outside to give them another 14 years? Are we saying that our local people cannot do the job? I say they can Yes, we can,” he maintained.

Eyre, who is holding the fort for Edvin Martin, Commissioner Designate, will only be in the post for three months; Martin is expected to arrive in May.

Rodney Adams, Deputy Commissioner and Kendall Grant, Assistant Commissioner had both been serving in the post since November, when Trevor Botting demitted the office.