Modern leadership expected from new Police Commissioner DeSilva
By Ruth O'Kelly-Lynch
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Deputy Commissioner Michael DeSiva: Soon to be the new Police Commissioner
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Newly appointed Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva is expected to bring modern leadership to the Island's Police force.
Current Commissioner George Jackson will step down in mid-December, at which point Mr. DeSilva, who is currently the Deputy Commissioner, will resume the role.
Yesterday Governor Richard Gozney said: "The commitment and skills, and determination to provide high quality policing, which Mr. DeSilva highlighted as a Superintendent in 2008, have been reinforced by his 14 months as Deputy Commissioner and I believe that he will prove a firm, consistent and modern leadership of the Bermuda Police Force."
Mr. DeSilva started out as a cadet in 1985, where he was awarded the Baton of Honour before heading to Bermuda College. Initially he planned to pursue a career in law.
But things don't always work out as planned, as he acknowledged when he was made Deputy Commissioner 14 months ago.
"Twenty three years later, I'm still here," he told The Royal Gazette at the time. "I had a three-year plan.
"I was going to work for three years and that would have made me about 21, 22.
"In those three years, I enjoyed where I was, put the plan on hold but never gave it up. It was still in the back of my mind that I would do that eventually. But then I went down the promotion route."
Mr. DeSilva, a divorced father of two daughters aged 13 and 14, has certainly risen through the ranks.
He was made a Sergeant at 27 and an Inspector at 31. In 2001, he became a Chief Inspector and was appointed a Superintendent in 2006.He was promoted to Deputy Commissioner 14 months ago, a move which saw him leapfrog over the service's Assistant Commissioners. At the time he made no bones about wanting the top position, adding that a Bermudian Commissioner would be good for the country."It's important because there needs to be home-grown leadership at the top of the organisation to act as a role model, to act as an example of what can be achieved and to be inspirational to our younger Bermudians," the former Warwick Academy Head Boy said. "Not just in the Police, that applies everywhere."But he added that his comments were not meant to diminish the efforts of expatriate Police working on the Island. During his time in the Police force he has worked in a variety of postings including Central and Western Uniform, Marine Unit, Outward Bound and the Training Department. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1994 and moved to the Cycle Crime Unit. In 1998 he transferred to the Narcotics Department as a Detective Inspector and headed the Combined Enforcement Interdiction team of Police and Customs officers. In 2001 Mr. DeSilva was promoted to Chief Inspector and was placed in charge of the Community Safety Department where he developed the Community Beat Officers Unit and the Schools Resource Officers Unit. He was awarded a Commissioner's Merit Award in 2003 for his work in these areas. He received a Commissioner's Commendation for Leadership in 2004 when he led a Public Order and Firearms Team in a relief deployment to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Force in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan.After being promoted Mr. DeSilva attended the International Strategic Leadership Programme at the Bramshill campus of the National Policing Improvement Agency (UK) in 2008. He holds an Executive Diploma in Strategic Leadership, and he is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute of the UK. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy in the United States, where he attended their Executive Development Programme in 2005. Mr. DeSilva is a certified Diversity Trainer and is a member of the Diversity Institute of Bermuda.
