Gov’t enters accommodation agreement after DPP‘s security complaint

After a series of complaints aired by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Tiffany Scatliffe-Esprit, her office will soon be relocated to another space.

In a post-Cabinet statement issued recently, it was disclosed that government entered into an agreement with R.G. Hodge Plaza to provide office accommodation for the DPP’s Office.

It was further indicated that the Attorney General’s Chambers will vet the lease. 

Scatliffe-Esprit previously complained both during Standing Finance Committee (SFC) hearings and in the Commission of Inquiry (COI) hearings held last year, that despite her concerns raised a year before, her office lacked a safe and secure accommodation.

In June last year, the DPP told the COI that judges and magistrates in the BVI lacked critical security support needed for them to feel safe. She also noted that there was an urgent need for security for herself and prosecutors on her staff as well.

“We need bigger salaries, we need to be able to get security, we need a more secure accommodation for the offices and I’ve always been told, ‘Yes, we will do it’, but then nothing.” Scatliffe-Esprit told the COI.

Vacant posts mostly filled

On a separate occasion, the DPP advised the SFC that all vacant posts had been filled, with the exception of four Senior Crown Counsel posts and one Office Generalist III. 

She further noted that the Senior Crown Counsel positions were in active recruitment and candidates were being interviewed at the time of the meeting, and it was hoped that the positions would be filled by January 2022. 

The DPP related to the SFC that the staffing issues resulted from delays in getting forms for recruitment approved by the Ministry of Finance. She this this caused them to lose potentially suitable candidates. 

Scatliffe-Esprit also told the SFC that poor salaries remained a problem.

The SFC deliberations took place in November and early December of 2021.