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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
A new Commissioner has been appointed to the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF), it was announced by the Governor, HE Peter Beckingham, today Wednesday 10 December.
James Smith will take up the position in charge of the 280 officers and staff of the RTCIPF in February 2015, following the conclusion of the contract of his predecessor, Canadian Colin Farquhar.
"I am delighted that we have secured the agreement of Jim Smith to take over as the next Police Commissioner this February. He brings the most senior experience from both the UK and Caribbean, having been an Assistant and Deputy Chief Constable in the UK, and was previously also Acting Police Commissioner of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service" said Governor Peter Beckingham, who approves all senior public appointments in the Territory.
"He was a Commander in London’s Metropolitan Police Service, where he was involved in the response to the London terrorist bombings, and introduced neighbourhood policing, a concept which we might usefully further develop here. He was also a senior officer in the Scottish police. His experience makes him a first class leader to take forward the men and women of the RTCIPF into the next stage of their professional and organisational development."
The Governor also paid tribute to the outgoing Commissioner. "I would like to take this opportunity to publicly recognise the contribution of Commissioner Colin Farquhar to policing here in the Turks and Caicos Islands, which continues to benefit from one of the lowest crime rates in the Caribbean and is widely recognised as a largely safe and welcoming destination for our residents and visitors. I wish him well as he resumes his policing career in Canada".
Commenting on his appointment James Smith said; “It is a tremendous honour to be appointed Commissioner of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. I believe that my experiences in the UK and overseas have a lot to offer my new RTCIPF colleagues, and I look forward to discussing with them their ideas as to how we can use this knowledge and practical experience to serve all the communities across the Turks and Caicos Islands.”
The RTCIPF Commissioner role was advertised locally, regionally and internationally. It attracted a field of nearly 30 applicants. Six candidates were shortlisted and interviewed by a panel comprising the Governor, Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles, Attorney General, Cheryl Astwood-Tull, Chair, Human Rights Commission, and Larry Covington, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Regional Security Adviser to the Caribbean Overseas Territories and a former UK police officer. They made a unanimous decision to appoint Jim Smith.
Biography – James Smith
James Smith is a highly respected police officer with almost forty years service in variety of policing environments and legal jurisdictions including Scotland, England, Hong Kong and the Caribbean. Joining the service in Edinburgh, Scotland he gained a three year deployment to the Royal Hong Kong Police where he was in charge of a variety of policing teams including drugs squad, anti-vice team and a riot control platoon. Returning to Scotland he gained considerable experience in a number of uniform and specialist roles including CID, traffic, emergency and events planning and was staff officer to the Chief Constable and spent a period of time with the Scottish Drugs Enforcement Agency.
As a senior officer in Edinburgh he was in command of Central Edinburgh with responsibilities that included the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Courts, the Palace of Holyrood and demonstrations as well as the day to day delivery of policing services. He was both a firearms officer and commanded firearms incidents. Graduating from the Strategic Command Course in 2002 he was appointed temporary Assistant Chief Constable before being selected as Commander in the London Metropolitan Police (MPS).
In the MPS he had operational command of seven London boroughs with several thousand staff. In addition to overseeing a large number of operations as Gold Commander he performed the role as National Coordinator for the UK policing response to the south East Asia Tsunami and played a significant role in the MPS response to the terrorist bombings in London in July 2005. Over a period of three years he was responsible for the introduction of specialist neighbourhood policing teams across London providing dedicated officers to communities in London for the first time. He was also responsible for Youth Justice, special constables and a variety of additional specialist staff and was the national lead on neighbourhood policing and represented the Association of Chief Police Officers on youth issues.
In 2006 he was appointed as Deputy Chief Constable of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) and was acting Chief Constable for an extended period. The CNC provides armed protection for all civil nuclear material in the UK and for transportation to numerous countries in Europe as well as the USA and Japan. Mr Smith is credited with modernising the force and forging alliances with other Home Office forces and agencies in the USA to make the CNC a highly efficient and effective force.
Following retirement from the CNC in late 2008 Mr Smith was appointed on a temporary basis as acting Commissioner in the Royal Cayman Islands Police until June 2009.
Mr Smith has attended a variety of senior police management courses and is the holder of Post Graduate Diploma in Policing and Applied Criminology from Cambridge, and a post Graduate Certificate in Management Studies from Edinburgh Napier University.
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