Pursuant to Sections 44 (1)(a)-(b) and 44 1(d)-(e)) of the Public Service Management Law complaint is made against staff member of the Ministry of Home Affairs David Baines for the following items of misconduct, inadequate performance over a reasonable period of time and the necessity to improve the efficiency of the Ministry of Home Affairs as follows:

1. The 43 Statute Barred Cases -The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service has issued a list revealing the nature of crimes involved in over four dozen Summary Court/criminal procedure code cases that were not prosecuted as a result of the statute of limitations expiring, as well as the reasons the cases did not make it to court on time. The list represents the time period between August 2005 and August 2010.Cayman Compass 26 January 2011. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

2. The GSR Contamination Mismanagement –A 29 August 2012 memo written to Royal Cayman Islands Police Service senior commanders by a police crime scene technician is raising questions about just how much investigating officers can rely on what’s known as gunshot residue or ‘GSR’ for court evidence. The memo was written by former RCIPS Scientific Support Manager Martin Gaule. It was sent to Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Brougham and copied to several other senior officers. The memo states Mr. Gaule’s “personal view” that GSR evidence should be specifically restricted and that it “cannot safely be used to prove or disprove possession of a firearm where there is no suggestion that the weapon has been recently fired”. Mr. Gaule writes that the police department, as well as the Crown, might wish to consider the circumstances in which costly GSR analysis is of value to an investigation. Cayman Compass 12 October 2012. The memo was not released until October 2012 by force of disclosure in a criminal case. The COP never released the memo to the public. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

3. The Search Warrant Debacle – Andre Woodman who had been charged in November 2013 by the police with a number of drug charges after police raided a house in Northward and seized drug paraphernalia, scales, bags, 10 ounces of ganja and almost 7 ounces of cocaine including rock cocaine was sentenced in the Summary Court to time served. A woman found at the house was tried separately in the Grand Court. She was set free after the Grand Court ruled that her admission statement was inadmissible due to a failure of the RCIPS to caution her properly. The ODPP declined to pursue that case further. The controversial case came to public attention when his lawyer filed complaints against the Justice of the Peace William Wood and the investigating officer DC Harrison in regard to the search warrant used to search the premises. In July 2014 the Summary Court ruled that the search warrant was illegal and Woodman was bailed after 8 months in custody. Subsequently a complaint was made to the Anti-Corruption unit against DC Harrison in regard to the illegal search warrant and several other matters. The case continued for over two years with the police being unable to complete disclosure. At the trial date in November 2015 Woodman pleaded guilty to possession of ganja, cocaine and consumption of ganja. The ODPP withdrew the charge of possession with intent to supply. Woodman was sentenced to the 8 months imprisonment by the presiding Magistrate or time served from his arrest until bail. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

4. The 20 Police Vehicle Crashes per year – The 18+ Police Vehicle Crashes per year. A FOI reply confirmed that the worst year for the police was 2012, when they had 20 cars involved in accidents. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

5. Hiring and Payment of Policeman on Murder Charge – Tyrone Findlay was found guilty of shooting and killing a man in 2010 when serving in the Jamaican police force. Findlay was recruited by the RCIPS in 2011 and served in the armed unit despite the allegations until suspension after media revelations. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

6. Missing Drugs and Firearms – A 29 September 2014 FOI reply by the RCIPS on questions relating to missing drugs in police custody elicited the following response:“With the current record structure, cases are filed by number and are tracked individually. We have no document that states what drugs may or may not be missing.” On further query the RCIPS stated that this response also applied to firearms. A failure to conclude or update the public of his junior staff member Brougham’s enquiry into the missing police 9mm automatic firearm. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

7. Drugs Missing Conviction Quashed No Evidence – The case of Eduardo Swaby-Gutierrez where the RCIPS failed to obtain certificates of analysis of cocaine and lost evidence. Swaby-Gutierrez, received a sentence of 12 years imprisonment for possession of cocaine with intent to supply. There was evidence of cocaine on a knife and on a table. On appeal Justice Henderson found the Former Chief Magistrate Margaret Ramsay-Hale had erred. The judge accepted there was no certificate of analysis or exhibits for what had been referred to as particles of cocaine found on a table. As a result the RCIPS financial crime unit had to return nearly ten thousand dollars, the first time in the history of the Cayman Islands. Cayman News Service 12 August 2012. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

8. The Illegal Roadblocks – The Constitution guarantees freedom of movement and the police should only stop the citizens of this country in any public place on suspicion of commission of an offence. The Department of Vehicle Licensing has an available database with any expired coupons and the police should not be detaining citizens for this purpose the RCIPS consistently breach section 116 of the Traffic Law: (1) For the purpose of enforcing this Law or regulations, a constable may erect on a road, whether during the day or night a roadblock or barrier, at which all vehicles shall be required to stop.
(2) The approach to a roadblock shall be identified
(a) during the daytime, by not less than two police notices or signposts erected at a suitable distance from the road block or barrier, facing oncoming traffic; and
(b) during the night, by not less than three warning lights, of prescribed design, in conjunction with police notices or signposts erected at a suitable distance from the road block or barrier, facing oncoming traffic. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

9. Increase in Complaints against Police- Increase in Complaints Against Police. Public complaints to the RCIPS more than doubled during 2009 when compared to the previous two years. In 2007 there were 87 complaints made by the public to the Police Professional Standards Unit (PSU), and in 2008 there were 93. However, in 2009 the complaints soared to 197. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

10. Failure to Set Up Police Public Complaints Authority- The eight year old requirement of the 2008 Police Law that created the Police Public Complaints Authority remains unimplemented by the Commissioner of Police. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

11. Police Financial Crime Unit Evidence Failure Case Dismissed – This is the August 2014 trial of Fernando Mendes, accused of stealing US$132,807.43 from Finab Ltd. Justice Quin in not allowing the case to proceed said: “ln addition to my criticism of the conduct of FINAB and AF in not providing full disclosure to support their serious allegations against the Defendant, I am also concerned by the apparent lack of support that the RCIPS has given to the DPP in this case. This is a concern that I have expressed on previous occasions. It is imperative that Senior Investigating Officers liaise closely with crown counsel to ensure that discovery/disclosure is carefully examined and to ensure that it is as full and as complete as possible. In this case it was the duty of the RCIPS to carry out an open minded and independent investigation to discover whether AF’s allegations against the Defendant were true or untrue. The RCIPS FCU failed to seize significant and relevant material at the time of the defendant’s arrest. I find that the FCU has failed to pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry and therefore has failed to obtain and retain material which may well serve to undermine the Crown’s case and assist the defence. This failure has led to a serious prejudice which, in my view, renders it impossible for the Defendant to have a fair trial, particularly some five years after the time the offences are alleged to have been committed, and, three and a half years after his arrest. Consequently there has been a serious fault so as to render it unfair to try the Defendant for the offence on this Indictment.” He also said it should have been obvious to the FCU that “material was missing and was vital in order to properly investigate the allegations made against the Defendant. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

12. A Failure to respond. The staff member has failed to acknowledge or respond to a free or paid luxury yacht cruise on the North Sound in May 2010 for visiting UK officers and whether any Caymanian officers attended. The Chief Officer is reminded that the staff member is chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission.

13. Missing Video Evidence From Central Police Station – Three charges of assaulting police against Raziel Jeffers were dismissed on 6 October 2011 after video tape evidence was lost by police. The charges stemmed from matters allegedly transpiring while the defendant was in police custody. However, the matter was unable to proceed after the tape containing the evidence was recorded over. This has been a recurring event. Cayman Compass 20 October 2011. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

14. The Missing Persons on a Small Island – Anna Evans, Kerry-Ann Baker, Nathan Clarke and a lack of public disclosure on historical disappearances. The staff member pursues a policy of arresting persons on serious crimes such as the case of Kerry-Ann Baker and then release without charge. It is submitted that the staff member has a policy of catch and release to diminish public outcry.

15. The Exorbitant Number and Amount of claims – Number of payments made by Cayman Islands Government in settlement of claims against the RCIPS for 2011, 2012 and 2013. 2011 -25 2012-48 2013-44. Amount of payments made by Cayman Islands Government in settlement of claims against the RCIPS for 2011, 2012 and 2013. 2011 -114,807 2012-211,940 2013-108,871 Total CI$435,518. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

16. CCTV and Plate Reader Failure – In many cases have the staff member and staff under his supervision failed to provide video or other evidence in their possession including the Rafael Williams cell camera and Jeffers assault case in October 2011. The RCIPS CPS has failed to consistently have a working quality CCTV system and in many cases footage has failed to be put into evidence. The inaccurate license plate readers and cases that information been used as evidence. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

17. Inappropriate Video – A failure to take any steps in the case of Sgt. Joseph Wright who videotaped the arrest of Dr.Frank McField with clearly inappropriate and racist comments made by the RCIPS officers on the tape except to promote Wright to rank of Inspector. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action

18. Staff Management – A failure to maintain Caymanian officers many of whom have left the RCIPS since the staff member took office. Caymanians face discrimination and unequal salary scales compared to their UK counterparts. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action

19. Police Helicopter – A failure of succession planning for senior RCIPS officers. and RCIPS staff associated with helicopter. The hiring of a helicopter pilot in 2015 who required further training. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

20. Theft of Police Cars – The failure to take remedial or disciplinary action in the theft of an RCIPS undercover vehicle in November 2012 and \failure to disclose RCIPS vehicles stolen or lost since 2009. The staff member and staff under his supervision failed to conduct an enquiry into this failure or take remedial action.

Bernie Bush
MLA West Bay Deputy Leader of the Opposition