Police Establish New Code Of Conduct

In the company of Police Complaints Authority Chairperson Michelle StJane, and PCA member and ex-Magistrate William (Will) Francis, Commissioner of Police Michael DeSilva announced the implementation of a new Code of Conduct for all police officers serving in Bermuda this morning [Aug 17].

Commissioner DeSilva said that the new Code incorporates fifty principles and seeks to ensure that all Police officers have the best possible professional relationships with the public that they serve.

Principals six and seven deal, and deal quite clearly, with issues of personal relationships. Principle six says that: “Members shall not engage in any business relationships with habitual criminals or persons of ill-repute. When in doubt as to whether a business partner is considered suitable, clarification shall be sought from the Commissioner of Police”.

Principle seven takes another step: “Members shall not be knowingly involved in intimate relationships with criminals or persons of ill-repute.”

Commissioner DeSilva said that the Code seeks to improve public trust and confidence in the Police Service, and to help garner more support for the day-to-day workings. Admitting that the handling of telephone calls had actually been the biggest source of complaints, the Commissioner said that particular attention had been paid to this matter and that all Police personnel had been made aware of the need to respond more professionally to all incoming telephone calls.

Above all else, the Commissioner said that the Code appreciated the need for “sensitivity” and an understanding of the need for “diversity” in all police/public contacts at the one-on-one level. He said that complaints that were formally lodged with the Police Complaints Authority had, in past years, numbered between 3 5 and 45. Answering a question about the timeframe for the lodging of a complaint to its resolution, Chairperson Michelle StJane said that this information would be in a Police report that would be released in due course. The Commissioner said that the introduction of the Code had begun six weeks ago and had been well-received by all serving police officers.

The Code of Conduct brochure is below, click ‘Full Screen’ the enlarge to full size:

The full statement by Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva is below:

In January I published the Annual Policing Plan in which we identified the four areas that we would improve this year: PEOPLE, PARTNERSHIPS, PRIORITIES and PERFORMANCE. In terms of the PEOPLE component, our staff are critical to the mission of Making Bermuda Safer. We are committed to develop all our staff to achieve high standards of competency and performance. The benefit back to the police comes in the form of public trust, confidence, cooperation and support.

I am pleased to announce today that we have implemented a Code of Conduct for Police Officers that gives formal direction to our members on the performance of their duties. The Code is a series of 50 statements of ethical behaviour that is expected from police officers.

The 50 statements are principles that are based on the Service’s Core Values: (Professionalism, Integrity, Respect, Accountability, Dedication, Courage and Unity).

The content of the Code is not new to the BPS; we have just codified the behaviours that are expected, or prohibited in some cases, both on and off duty.

Most of the behaviours centre around treatment of other people and the professional conduct that sits behind the services we provide to the public: we are making a huge investment in training all our staff to raise their standards when handling telephone calls and face to face interactions with the public. Additionally, we have formalised the process for disqualifying officers from being involved in cases where there is a relationship such as a family member or friend. We have also specified, categorically, that business or personal relationships with known criminals and gang members will not be tolerated.

In terms of accountability for breaching the Code, our first approach is always interventions and consequences. This includes training and counselling – the idea is to encourage officers to change their behaviours positively. For serious cases, officers will face disciplinary measures under the Discipline Code where the punishment is on a sliding scale from an admonishment to dismissal.

The Code of Conduct was developed in consultation with the Police Complaints Authority and I am delighted to have the Chair and other members here today to release the document publically. The value of the Code extends beyond the direction it gives to police officers; members of the public should know what behaviours to expect from their police officers, and they should be assured that officers remain accountable for their actions when providing policing services.

Thank you

#BermudaPolice

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