Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin today announced the names of the three Caymanians who will be in charge of Cayman’s Customs and Border Control Agency and new Coast Guard.

The appointment of the Director of the New Customs and Border Control department and the Commander and Deputy Commander of the Cayman Islands Coast Guard shows that the Government is delivering on its promise to transform the RCIPS Marine Unit into a Cayman Islands Coastguard Service.

The Coast Guard service is being established with dedicated resources to allow detection and interdiction of boats arriving in Cayman waters with drugs and guns, as well as illegal immigrants. It will have the ability to board and search vessels in our waters and make arrests if needed.

“The idea of our own Coast Guard began to take shape under the Progressives-led Administration in the last term of Government,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “We committed to it in our Manifesto and today we are publicly putting our dream into reality. There has been a lot of behind the scenes work to get us to this point and I commend everyone who has helped in the formation and success of a Cayman Islands’ Coast Guard.”

Cayman obtained the services of Mr. Phil Bostock, who is commander in the United Kingdom’s Maritime and Coast Guard Agency in January this year to assist in the development of the Coast Guard.

“I told members of the House and the public in March this year that work had already begun to improve border security and merge the Customs and Immigration agencies into a single border force,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “I am happy to say that as of January 1, 2019, The Department of Immigration and the Cayman Islands Customs Department will merge to create the Customs and Border Control Agency.”

Staff members have been involved in specialist joint operations and training continues in enhanced search and rescue capabilities. Cayman has also been assisted since January by Mr. Colin Brown of the United Kingdom Border Force who is helping us make the Customs and Immigration merger effective.

“All three of the appointments are good for Caymanians and the Cayman Islands and I thoroughly support these men,” said Minister for Finances and Economic Development Hon. Roy McTaggart under whose remit Customs falls. “Their backgrounds make them uniquely qualified for the jobs at hand and we can all rely on them to keep Cayman safe.”

The new Commander is Robert Scotland who has more than 26 years of law enforcement experience, 10 of which have been in a strategic management capacity. Mr. Scotland is a former police superintendent and an excellent example of the calibre of Caymanians who are willing and able to serve their country in this extremely important role.

Mr. Scotland has earned a reputation as a resourceful problem solver with excellent communication, analytical, and leadership skills as he worked locally and regionally. These attributes will be an asset in the establishment of effective and efficient Coast Guard operations.

The Lieutenant Commander is Mr. Leo Anglin, a former Police Inspector, who has experience in command of the Joint Marine Unit and experience with the Cayman Islands Port Authority. Mr. Anglin is experienced in training and developing junior officers, marine drugs and firearms interdiction, search and rescue as well as strategic and operational law enforcement. He served as a capable tactical and operations inspector with the Joint Marine Unit of the RCIPS.

The Cayman Islands Coast Guard will be operationally independent but report to the Commissioner of Police.

The appointment of Mr. Scotland and Mr. Anglin follows a recruitment process conducted by the Ministry of Human Resources and Immigration.

On 1 January of next year Mr. Charles Clifford will take up the lead role as Director of Customs and Border Control.

Mr. Clifford, a son of the soil, has worked his way up from a police cadet to Chief Inspector. He has worked within Central Government in the role of Senior Assistant Secretary (Now called Deputy Chief Officer) and ultimately Permanent Secretary and Chief Officer of Tourism, Environment, Development and Commerce.

He has served as the Collector of Customs for over three years and is a qualified and practiced attorney. Mr. Clifford brings a wide range of solid and relevant experience to this new agency.

“I am confident that the team of officers and staff of the Immigration and Customs Department will support his leadership in the establishment of the New Customs and Border Control Department, taking the security of our airports and seaport to world class,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “This new agency is tasked diligently to uphold the law in relation to customs duty, landing and entry, asylum and border control.”

The appointment of Mr. Clifford follows a recruitment process also conducted by the Ministry of Human Resources and Immigration.

IMAGE:

From left, Police Commissioner Derek Byrne, Chief Officer of the Ministry of Human Resources and Immigration Wesley Howell, Minister for Finance and Economic Development Roy McTaggart, Collector of Customs Charles Clifford, Coast Guard Commander Robert Scotland, Lieutenant Commander Leo Anglin and Premier Alden McLaughlin.

BIOS

Charles E. Clifford, JP

Mr. Clifford’s career started in 1980 as a 16-year-old police cadet. Subsequently, he progressed through the ranks of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS), reaching the position of Chief Inspector in charge of Police Administration. In total, Mr. Clifford served 17 years as a police officer. During his police career he trained alongside local law enforcement agencies as well as internationally with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Scotland Yard, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Mr. Clifford went on to study law and earned a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) Degree from the University of Liverpool, and a Professional Practice Certificate from the Queen’s University of Belfast.
In 1997 Mr. Clifford was appointed Senior Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, and was promoted to Permanent Secretary in 2001. In 2004, after 24 years of public service, Mr. Clifford resigned from the Cayman Islands Government and joined the law firm of Quin & Hampson.
In 2005 Mr. Clifford was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly – 2nd Elected Member for the District of Bodden Town, and was subsequently appointed as the Minister of Tourism, Environment, Investment and Commerce. He served in that post until 2009.
Mr. Clifford has considerable experience in representing the Cayman Islands at international forums involving the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the United Nations, CARICOM, and other Overseas Territories.
In addition to his service as a Justice of the Peace, Mr. Clifford has served on several Government boards and committees; the most notable of which include: Chairman of the National Tourism Management Policy Steering Committee; Chairman of the Air Transport Licensing Authority; Deputy Chairman of the Port Authority; Member of the Cayman Airways Board of Directors; Member of the Cayman Turtle Farm Board of Directors, and Member of the National Hurricane Committee.
In 2012 Mr. Clifford was called to the bar in the Cayman Islands where he was admitted as an Attorney-at-Law. In that same year he opened his own law firm, Clifford Law Associates, and partnered with two other local attorneys.
In 2015 Mr. Clifford was appointed as Collector of Customs for the Cayman Islands.
On January 1, 2019 Mr. Clifford will take up the role of Director of Customs and Border Control – an integrated department which will be established through the merger of the Customs Department and components of the Immigration Department.

Leo A. Anglin

Mr. Leo Anglin is a dedicated well-rounded civil servant with over 9 years in Law Enforcement, possessing comprehensive knowledge of maritime enforcement, organizational management, and search & rescue. Combined with these skills are exceptional leadership abilities, strategic and analytical thinking, problem solving, interpersonal communication, budget management, and team management.
Mr. Anglin was the Safety and Crisis Management Manager at the Port Authority of the Cayman Islands from 14 August, 2017, until his current role. The he implemented safety policies and procedures with compliance to safety and health rules and regulations. He reported, evaluated, and when necessary investigated all work-related accidents.
He identified potential safety issues and recommended corrective actions, as well as follow-up verification and conducted employee training on managing employee health and safety.
As Tactical Operations Inspector – Joint Marine Commander, Air Support, Firearms, and K9 Royal Cayman Islands Police Service | Grand Cayman from June 2009 until August, 2017 he was responsible for managing the operations of 4 Units and over 50 employees while managing 5,000,000 in Government assets
He conducted investigations and compiled comprehensive reports related to vessel incidents, maintained administrative records, developed and conducted training for junior officers and interpreted laws, policies and procedures.
As Ramp Manager of Island Air Limited he developed the Company’s Safety Manual, prepared and reviewed emergency quick response templates and dispatched flights
He was Operations Manager for BBA Aviation in Florida where he was health, safety and environmental Coordinator responsible for implementation of best safety practices and recurring training of employees to Occupational Health and Safety Administration requirements
He has a Certificate in Police Studies from the University College of the Cayman Islands and was a certified Tactical Firearms commander as well as a Critical Incident Commander. He is a PADI Certified open-water diver and is PAHO Mass Casualty trained.

Robert Scotland

Mr. Robert Scotland formerly served over 26 years as a police officer with the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) wherein he attained the position of Superintendent of Police. As a senior police leader, Mr. Scotland was responsible for various portfolios including Uniformed and Specialist Operations.
During his career with the RCIPS, Mr. Scotland led organisational operations including policy development, financial management, business process re-engineering, threat assessment and mitigation, crisis management and business continuity. Additionally, Mr. Scotland garnered vast experience managing complex criminal investigations and serving as strategic and operational commander of critical incidents. In his capacity as a Police Officer, Mr. Scotland successfully
Mr. Scotland has contributed to security, law enforcement, and public safety policy at various levels during his public service career, including as a member of the United Kingdom Caribbean Overseas Territories & Bermuda Working Group focusing on the Prevention and Detection of Serious and Organized Crime. In addition, he also served as the Chairperson for the Working Group responsible for Developing Legislation & Tactics for the implementation of Covert Policing Tactics within the UK Caribbean Overseas Territories & Bermuda. He has also participated in the development of regional and local strategies for the advancement of national security matters related to aviation security, border security, cyber security, and maritime safety.
Mr. Scotland transitioned from the RCIPS in 2016 to the CICSA Credit Union as the organisation’s Security and Operations Manager.
In October, 2018 Mr. Scotland will take up the post of Commander of the Cayman Islands Coast Guard. As Commander, Mr. Scotland will be responsible the strategic leadership and management of the Cayman Islands Coastguard, including the strategic evaluation of risk, development of operational doctrine, and the overarching planning for policies to ensure comprehensive delivery of services related to Maritime Security, Search and Rescue, Border Protection, Criminal Interdiction in Territorial Waters, and Law Enforcement in line with established policies, regulations, procedures and laws and of the Cayman Islands and relevant international conventions.
Coupled with his extensive leadership experience in the field of security, law enforcement, and public safety, Mr. Scotland holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Resilience from Canfield University and a Post Graduate Certificate in Criminal Justice and Police Management from University of Leicester.