Top cop should go on administrative leave — Premier
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley indicated that he will lobby for Police Commissioner Mark Collins to proceed on administrative leave pending an investigation into his alleged misconduct in office.
Collins was accused by dozens of officers of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) of unfair practices, resulting in a petition that calls for his removal from office over alleged abuse of power.
Governor John Rankin said he launched an inquiry into the allegations mounted against Commissioner Collins and assured residents that once that review has been completed, and any findings or recommendations have been made, he will make them available to the public.
Premier Wheatley, in the meantime, said he wants the appropriate protocols to be followed under the circumstances as is done with other members of the public service.
“Obviously, I would lobby for what is fair and what is right,” Premier Wheatley told reporters yesterday. “If it’s fair and it’s right under the existing protocols for when someone is being investigated for them to go on administrative leave, I certainly would advocate for that.”
The Premier said yesterday that he will ask many questions when members of the National Security Council meet and decide on the way forward at that point.
The Premier, Police Commissioner and Governor Rankin all sit on the National Security Council, which meets today.
Several public officers have been sent on leave over the past few years as they have been investigated for breach of trust allegations, most of which concern Commission of Inquiry investigations.
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the Premier acting Director of communication should be on leave too.
you have done a lot of wrong and continue to do wrong.
The Premier should go on administrative leave.
The difference between the Commissioner of Police and the other officials who have been placed on leave is:
The allegations against the Commissioner of police have been spuriously made by a former officer who is himself under investigation and on leave (based on real evidence). More than half the officers which signed the petition against the Commissioner didn’t even understand what they were signing (which is embarrassing in itself) and there has been no actual evidence proferred to suggest even an investigation is warranted.
The others have been suspended based on hard evidence and have been charged awaiting their day in court.
There is a big difference there. At one end of the spectrum, there is a conspiracy to discredit a Commissioner who is delivering accountability in a corrupt environment. At the other end there are some words on paper with no evidence. No matter how you measure it this situation is different than the other officials, for which so much evidence has been provided that the prosecutor is willing to prosecute and the court is willing to entertain the case.
Obviously a UK National typing this and the UK chaps can do no wrong. Delivering accountability? You have no clue what’s going on here.
Aren’t BVIslanders UK Nationals? Is this a bit like the constant shout of “Island Man”?
I heard of a review not an investigation, so why should he be sent on administrative leave. NONESENSE.
WADE WAS SENT ON LEAVE SO SO SHOULD HE
I still see no evidence…where is it, papers been talking for ages about this but still nothing.
Why is the Premier getting involved with rumours? He should be embarrassed!
Looks like the primer stay to do so work that top cop are pay off by west bank , yo killer i know man out here waiting for u but u want to stay in jail so u can call shot and don’t get kill but your money do enuff time for the head of the snake must go please come out
Could you translate to English? Thanks
I never before agree with s**w man but I am in his corner. Anyone accused of wrong doing should be sent on leave. When will the UK send sl** man on leave. 90 percent of the territory believe that this inept person should be sent on leave. The UK is failing us. Send sl** man permanently to the wilderness. It is time. Governor stand your ground. Until sl**man have the guts to step down the cop remains.
I guess when they investigate and if they find wrongs then the commissioner would be placed on administrative leave.
Same time Premier needs to go on ministerial leave
I haven’t heard of any specific complaint so far that sounds as though it has a sound basis in a breach of any duty by the Commissioner.
I assume therefore that this is a mix of anti-British lashing out caused by the humiliation of the CoI evidence and the Head Coach trial; and the large number of people in the BVI who are at risk of getting their collars felt, either for public corruption or drug trafficking. It’s a target rich environment for either of those offences I’d say.
I fully agree that All those who are being investigated should be put on leave including Elected Officials. There are still cases being investigated from the COI. Let us speak Truth to Power. Not only the Public Service Officers should be on leave. ALL who are being investigated should be put on leave. Governor, please look into that.
This is the same Premier when members of his sitting government were found to have given money for credit cards, car notes, to start new businesses or for fake businesses. The same Premier who said nothing was wrong with it and as long as it stayed in the economy and helped people nothing was wrong. Then y’all wonder why we are in the current mess we are in. Our elected ministers don’t want to be held accountable for their wrongs but quick to point out everyone else wrong doing.
I get shot and tell the police who shot me that police say the man come in mask the only way he know them come in mask because he dress them up to come. I living i see them. Them dirt cops don’t want me go court to tell the judge them want me dead no island man going to kill me
We need to give them a full confrontation send them back home in box deity cops
I see WTF defending the Commissioner. I am certain that what I read was an email from him instructing that evidence should be destroyed. Now if it was destroyed that is another matter for the investigations. But the instructions to destroy evidence clearly is evident in the email. I am not a lawyer, but this is justifiable grounds for him to be sent on leave. Clearly, he is given every opportunity by the Governor to do his cover up. I also understand that they are running some kind of investigation inside the force about petition. They better be careful they are not in breach of the recent legislation that was accented in 2021
While A Large number of this Territory’s Population would like to see a UK Takeover, It would not result in Good nor Better for the Territory. BUT something need to be done with some Members of Government who even after the COI is continuing with the same Things that the COI was able to discover. The Premier while He is calling for solidarity from the Citizens and the Opposition He needs to resign before He is asked to resign because He is well aware of what is still going on. An Audit or investigation needs to be conducted the duties of Politicians even after Elections of April, 2023 to uncover the wrong-doings in Government. The Governor in his role has good reason for what He is seeking to do If only the Citizens had knowledge of such. As We go along ,Time will Tell. This Government ever since Elected is intent on carrying on Business as usual. Like it or not, The Hammer will come down.
That fat cop who trying to bash the top cop on every media, guess what, it got real hard evidence against YOU though. Premier you go home what you really doing for the place, up to now you can’t meet COI deadlines. What you really doing huh? Good or bad, top cop making a difference dread..don’t matter if it was a local or UK national….just make a difference in the place and so far I have seen some progress with top cop, nobody perfect, there will be a few hiccups here and there you all politician been messing up and robbing the Territory of all sorts of funds with your fake contracts and your mess and you want to try take the heat off you all and talk about top cop this and that, oh please, so shove it!! Look at the damn roads!! Tell me why after all these years, you all can’t properly fix the roads. You only focusing on some parts of Road Town as if tourists only hang in town. So they come off the plane in Beef Islands and as they pass the bridge they going straight into pothole city. Every three to four months, we gotta take our vehicles them to get fix cause something underneath get mess up due to the bad roads them. Every time they send men to so call fix the roads, you watching 20 men standing there looking at one man working. What kinda thing that is yo? You all care anything about this country? Hell no!! Fix the main highways first to get a straight road from one end of the island to the other end then do the side roads, had you all focused on that, the roads would’ve been perfect. After that, clean up the place…. each district rep should be organizing a committee not just for campaign time, but a full time committee that organize volunteers for each district to clean up the place and make it tidy. You got the same two parties who have always proven themselves to be corrupt over the years and making promises to get votes and when they get in, they doing as they please…. the people them well know this, but they still voting in the same two parties them then want to get vex up when they find out things they already knew was going happy from the jump…now top cop come and he has showed more production than the last few top cops that were here and solving more crimes, and cold cases, getting tons of drugs and guns of the street and dealing with a lot of corrupt cops that’s in the force doing them ness and you all here talking about send home.. of an email with no proof as to who was the author and off other rumors, yet a whole local who was entrusted by the people to run the Territory, fooled everyone due to greed and his rest croonies in there low key trying to re-route how they going do their badness and you all talking about top cop…..HYPROCRITES… oh please… now you bawling about, “oh we don’t want GOV to get complete power or UK to take over and blah blah blah”… so who fault that is to soon cause this to happen? NOT US CITIZENS!!! Thats for sure!!!! You don’t want history keep repeating itself …know your role and fix things dread, so it don’t come to that point and you won’t come bawling about UK this and that…strupes. I vex until and I don’t care who come for me on here cause I not lying at all… you well see what I seeing. Let me get off of here before them find me and take me out lol.