Defending caregivers

October 19, 2010.

Here are a few thoughts of mine on the defence of Bermuda's caregivers. The caregivers with many years experience vs. the caregivers who graduated after one year of education with a certificate in geriatrics.

Lately I read in your column about a few caregivers who voiced their concerns. The late Nelson Bascome had a good idea about caregivers being qualified. I suggest that the experienced caregivers have an opportunity to do the exam by verbal, written and/or practical. If they should fail any part of the exam they should be allowed to do the course in that area and redo the exam. That way the caregivers should be able to keep their jobs, since there is a shortage of staff in this area in the rest homes across the island.

Whilst there are a number of responsibilities the caregiver have, i.e. bathing, feeding, rest room assistance, etc., and some of these responsibilities do not need certification it makes sense to let the experienced caregivers work with the qualified caregivers. Every one needs to have some work to help him or herself and his or her family.

W.S. FOX

Smith's

Publish warrants list

October 7, 2010

Dear Sir,

It is unfortunate that Senator Dunkley chose to criticise the Police and apparently accepted a wrong version of the events surrounding Keishon Smith's arrest on a warrant despite having been given the true facts by the Deputy Commissioner. A warrant did exist and it was not for the speeding offence for which Mr. Smith had paid the fine.

However, it does highlight a very serious and worsening problem with outstanding warrants that has existed for many years and is in urgent need of attention.

Last time I checked there were literally thousands of arrest warrants outstanding, exceeding 11,000, all of them issued by the Courts, with the Police Service being legally responsible for executing them, without exception. Arrest warrants are issued for a wide variety of reasons, ranging from non-payment of fines, failure to appear in Court for minor traffic offences or for very serious crimes, including murder.

Mr. Dunkley's comments may give the impression that the Police run around the countryside looking to arrest people on warrant for minor traffic offences, but that is not what they do at all. Police officers on patrol generally request a routine check of the warrant list when they stop someone for a traffic violation or see someone acting suspiciously. This usually takes just a few seconds, and if the person is wanted on a warrant they are arrested. There is no discretion involved nor should there be. Individual police officers cannot arbitrarily decide who they should or should not arrest if a warrant has been issued by the Court. They would be derelict in their duty.

What is needed is a system that greatly reduces the number of outstanding warrants. Here are several suggestions:-

1. At the end of each business day in Magistrates' Court, the Court to provide the media with a list of all arrest warrants issued on that day. Ideally, the list should be published the next day. If necessary the names could appear on an official list and be published at the expense of the Magistrates' Court;

2.The Magistrates' Court, in cooperation with the Police, should publish in The Royal Gazette, or in the Official Government Gazette, a comprehensive list of every person wanted on warrant. If necessary, because of the enormous number, this could start with persons whose names begin with A, B and C, then D, E and F, and so on. It would make for very interesting reading;

3. The public should be allowed to have access to a Master List published on a website, listing every outstanding arrest warrant issued by the Courts. This would need to be updated on a daily basis.

What would be accomplished by these measures?

n By publishing names on a daily basis as arrest warrants are issued, the public would quickly be made aware of exactly who is wanted on a warrant. You can be sure that his or her family, friends and acquaintances will hear the news and pass it on;

¦ By publishing a one-off comprehensive list in the daily newspaper and/or in the Official Government Gazette, the public would be made aware of the enormity of this problem and are more than likely to call those named to let them know they are listed, and maybe even assist the Police in locating those named;

¦ By publishing all names on a Master List on a website, the list would be available 24/7 to the persons named and also to anyone else who might wish to assist the Police in having them arrested;

¦ Anyone for whom a warrant has been issued, and who has subsequently been dealt with by the Courts can check the Master List to make sure their name has been deleted. Keishon Smith might not have been arrested if he had realised there was a second warrant outstanding for him.

It might be argued that the Press should not publish the names of persons for whom warrants have been issued, but they can do so now if a reporter happens to be in Court when a warrant is issued. It should not be left to reporters to chase after the names on arrest warrants. The list should be officially prepared by someone in authority at the Magistrates' Court.

It might also be argued that offenders sometimes give a false name to the Police (for example, the name of a friend or someone they know), and it would be embarrassing if a warrant was issued for someone who has done nothing wrong. This already happens from time to time. But surely it is much more embarrassing if that innocent person is later arrested and has to try to prove that he or she is not the person who was stopped or arrested by the Police. Surely it is better to find out immediately the warrant is issued so the innocent person can call the Police and explain the situation.

The situation could be even worse for an innocent person if they try to leave the country only to be arrested at the Airport on a warrant they know nothing about.

If the total number of arrest warrants is in the region of 8,000 to 10,000, it means that statistically there is one arrest warrant for approximately every six or seven people in Bermuda. That is beyond ridiculous.

It is more than likely that a good percentage of these arrest warrants are old, and if so the Court may need to establish a policy to amnesty old warrants for non-serious offences after maybe four or five years, in which case the comprehensive list of outstanding warrants could be paired down before being published.

I would urge Senator Dunkley and all of our politicians to work collectively in supporting the Police and seeking positive ways to tackle this ongoing and urgent problem.

ROGER J. SHERRATT

Smith's Parish

Dealing with bad apples

October 19, 2010

Dear Sir,

After reading an article about two Philadelphia police officers, which was posted online on October 8, 2010, I discovered that this nonchalant attitude I believe to be displayed by some of the younger generation is not just limited to Bermuda. The article indicates that investigators in Philadelphia set up a sting operation with the intention of catching two Philadelphia police officers who were suspected of engaging in corrupt practices (they had become too cozy with a dealer). The two they actually caught in the sting operation were not the two they suspected of wrongdoing. The officers who were caught were 23 and 31 years old. The older of the two appeared despondent and ashamed of his actions but his younger partner had a nonchalant attitude.

The Philadelphia Police Commissioner and the District Attorney were obviously displeased and made the following comments: Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey stated: "I don't know how deep this runs …We've got a lot of work to do." Commissioner Ramsey warned them that if there are anymore corrupt officers, they'll be caught as well. He recognises that it could get worse before it gets better. He also stated: "We're talking about law-enforcement officers. We're talking about people who are making arrests every day … If you're ripping off drug dealers, you could end up in a shoot-out. You could end up in anything."

District Attorney Seth Williams didn't mince his words when he stated: "Police corruption will not be tolerated …We are committed to rooting out bad cops, and we will prosecute them for the disgraceful thugs and scum that they are."

Some people who reacted to the news about the corrupt Philadelphia police officers stated that the police are a part of the problem and: "That's why nobody hardly gets along with the cops or trusts the cops."

Bad officers may be a minority on any police force, but there's always the potential for one bad apple to spoil the bunch if it's left long enough. What is normally the outcome of the many complaints made against police officers in Bermuda? How effective has the Police Complaints Authority been?

If complaints are not satisfactorily addressed at this level, then we shouldn't wonder why so many young black males in Bermuda lack respect for authority figures. They are now brazen enough to commit crimes in broad daylight with no regard for the law. Could this lack of respect, by these unruly youths, be the result of a bad example being set for them, or could they possibly know something about certain officers that most law-abiding citizens don't know?

On that note, managers should stay on top of issues in their organisations and should never underestimate the impact of one person with an attitude problem or divisive or corrupt nature. This type of individual can cause major problems. When issues are not addressed as they arise, eventually division occurs within the entire group and they cease to function as a powerful entity. When those impacted by negative conduct see what's occurring, they lose respect for the system. When respect is lost, nonchalant attitudes surface and even more problems are created.

It is quite evident that Philadelphia Commissioner Ramsey and DA Williams were more concerned about the reputation of the Philadelphia Police force as opposed to protecting the image of a few bad officers within the organisation. They took immediate action to rid their organisation of those two bad apples, making sure that they didn't spoil the whole bunch. This is a prime case of action speaking louder than words.

JENNIFER CAINES

Devonshire