Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
Police are trying their hardest to recruit but red tape in the budget is holding them back according to Kendall Grant, Acting Commissioner of Police, when he appeared before the Appropriations Committee on Friday, April 12.
Just over 280 trained officers are in the Force but despite having added a significant number there are still 40 vacancies, especially in the position of police constable.
The necessary, but long recruitment process which mandates an integrity test is one issue but the tendency of the Budget to allocate recruitment allowances for nine months instead of 12 is the main problem, Grant says.
He revealed that 88 applications are being processed but the police force was unable to hire new officers until July because of the 9-month allocations.
“[it is] creating additional strain on our medium-term crime-fighting strategies, especially considering recent violent crime and the threat posed by Haiti. Should this position remain it would further challenge our crime-fighting abilities,” Grant said
He maintained that money should be provided for 12 months of pay for immediate hiring.
Representatives from the Ministry of Finance clarified that as a means of saving money, most vacant posts were pro-rated because by the time it took for the estimates to be approved months would be lost. The representatives maintained that this was not stopping anyone from hiring. But members of the committee, including Willin Belliard, Appointed Member to the House of Assembly, maintained the police should have their 12-month allocation.
Grant explained that without enough officers, they had to resort to overtime and had exceeded their overtime budget of $700,000 by over $1 million. Additionally, It cost the force $700,000 to feed, house, and clothe the Royal Bahamas Police Force officers who arrived in the country to help quell crime and shore up the force’s numbers last financial year.
Usually underspending because of recruitment issues this year the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police force has still managed to spend nearly all of its $36 million for 2023/24, only underspending by $600,000 again because of recruitment.
Grant’s presentation was described as one of the most frank and straightforward in years.
