HIGH-ranking Royal Bahamas Police Force officers Stephen Dean and Emrick Seymour.
By KHRISNA RUSSELL
Deputy Chief Reporter
krussell@tribunemedia.net
HIGH-ranking Royal Bahamas Police Force officers Emrick Seymour and Stephen Dean are perceived to be “casualties” of Clarence Reckley’s early retirement, The Tribune was told yesterday.
A senior officer with intimate details of the situation and on condition of anonymity has said some officers feel Deputy Commissioner Seymour and Senior Assistant Commissioner Dean were being forced to take vacation leave ahead of retirement to make Assistant Commissioner Reckley’s exit from the force “look good”.
It was also claimed that many in the senior ranks have looked on with disapproval at the way in which these long serving officers are being treated. It is expected that those with longstanding careers in the RBPF should be afforded certain courtesies in the lead up to retirement.
Senior ACP Dean enlisted in the RBPF in 1981. This year marks his 38th anniversary with the force. Deputy Commissioner Seymour and ACP Reckley both joined the force in 1980.
Each of the three officials have, according to another source, accumulated large sums of leave.
Quite naturally, the source insisted these officers and many others have reached the maturation of their careers with the force, adding this is how the process works.
Later this year and even next year will see others move on from the organisation, the source said, telling The Tribune a restructure of the RBPF is imminent.
In these cases, the officers would have accumulated excessive amounts of leave. An extreme case of this, the source said, is a senior officer having nearly 100 weeks of vacation.
Ordinarily the officers have five weeks of vacation each year, but yearly there are restrictions on leave, leaving only a narrow timeframe when an officer can take vacation.
This is why these three officers were most likely asked to take vacations and then go on to retirement, the source said.
It was also noted that many senior RBPF officials joined the organisation around the same time as the three officers in question, meaning retirements would come in close succession.
“The government took a position several years ago that rather than paying these large sums of accumulated leave they would allow you to go on vacation,” the source told this newspaper. “So if I had 52 weeks leave for example I’d start vacation 52 weeks before my anniversary date so that by the time as the anniversary, the government has nothing for me. So I’m still on the payroll. I get my money, but I’m still coming to work because I’m on pre-retirement. It’s not called pre-retirement leave but that essentially what it is.
“So I eat up my vacation and then when my anniversary comes the government says okay, here is your gratuity, your pension, whatever the case maybe and that’s the end of story.
“My understanding is that there are a significant number of officers particularly in the senior ranks that have accumulated leave,” the source continued. “I know one person has in the area of 100 weeks in vacation and there are quite a number of persons who have that or close.
“They have five weeks, but sometimes they only take one or two weeks and then they travel for the job, so it is difficult to take vacation. Then there are black out periods each year. For example around Independence Day or no one can go on leave around Christmas so you have a very, very restrictive time period when you can take leave.
“Many of those in the senior ranks joined the force at the same time, moved up the ranks at the same time. You’ll find there are a lot of them whose time will expire around the same time. Between this year and next year, you are going to see a lot of them leave around the same time signalling change in the leadership of the force.”
Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis has suggested ACP Reckley’s leave before retirement at this time is victimisation. ACP Reckley is the husband of former Urban Renewal Deputy Director Michelle Reckley. She was arraigned last month on more than 20 charges alleging that she defrauded the Urban Renewal Small Homes Repairs programme in Grand Bahama of over $1m.
Senior ACP Dean declined comment yesterday and Deputy Commissioner Seymour was unavailable.
National Security Minister Marvin Dames has denied this is political or personal.
Comments
sheeprunner12 5 years, 8 months ago
Stephen Dean made his whole career off Urban Renewal ....... he was a sergeant in 2002 when Perry started Urban Renewal ...... now he is ACP ........... He cannot complain about retiring.
DonAnthony 5 years, 8 months ago
I do not see any issue here. These men have had long successful careers on the force but they are old and it is time, maybe past time for them to retire and enjoy their remaining years left. The old makes way for the new, with younger officers filling the void. Too many civil servants hang on too denying the youth their opportunity.
sheeprunner12 5 years, 8 months ago
Who do you blame for that????? ........ Revise the complex PSC retirement policy.
DonAnthony 5 years, 8 months ago
We should have a strict mandatory retirement age for all civil servants, one that can only be extended for very few individuals only under exceptional circumstances, perhaps only on the approval of cabinet. This will help with the unemployment situation in the country as well.
geostorm 5 years, 8 months ago
@DonAnthony, I couldn't agree with you more.
Well_mudda_take_sic 5 years, 8 months ago
Just the tip of the iceberg. Not only must these useless over-compensated dinosaurs be removed from law enforcement, but they must not be offered another civil servant job elsewhere in government. Going forward, all law enforcement officers should be required to take all of their annual leave/vacation benefits in the year earned with absolutely no carry forward of such benefits to succeeding years and no payment in lieu. The enormous army of brown suits must be systematically reduced as soon as possible to less than half the current number. The present system for retaining incompetent and/or incapable law enforcement officers no matter what, must be reformed at the earliest possible time.
DDK 5 years, 8 months ago
Indeed, the army of khaki was one the of PLP's many last election parting gifts!
banker 5 years, 8 months ago
Stop the photoshop filters. Especially the "Sharpen" filters. These pics look like cartoons. The Seymour photo looks like its been through the "Cartoonify" filter. Tribune needs a new photoshop person.
TigerB 5 years, 8 months ago
Actually it makes a lot of sense. The ranks are clogged up in the senior officers. The last promotion could have been use for 4 different promotion. THose fellas gratuity alone wil break the treasury aahahah
birdiestrachan 5 years, 8 months ago
No doubt it is political. they wanted Reckley and those two got caught in the mix. They will probably give Mr: Seymour a big position later.
There is a right way and a wrong way to do everything. they have given many years of service and they deserved respect. Calling them in and telling them that immediately they should go on leave is the wrong way.
No Games may be in his glory now but it will come to an end. Spite and malice goes around and it will come around.
There is a just God and his justice will prevail . Look for it ,It is coming..
licks2 5 years, 8 months ago
I wonder why would they let everybody else go. . .BUT TO DO SO TO MR RECKLEY IS VICTIMIZATION? Since the PLP have a problem with him going. . .tell us how to deal with him. . .because , like others throughout the Public services, HE HAS REACHED HIS MAXIMUM!! What the PLP expect to be done with him. . .keep him on like Baultron Bethell? Who was 82 years old and still in public services.
BONEFISH 5 years, 8 months ago
I am not a fan of Baltron Bethell but he was a consultant on contract. That is totally different from being a civil servant.You mixing up apples with oranges to score a cheap political point.Both parties hire consultants and take care of their people in the civil service.
sheeprunner12 5 years, 8 months ago
That is why we are in the $3 billion pension hole now with the Civil Service with very little productivity to show for it in 50 years ........... Politicians hiring PEPs, top heavy management, no succession planning, graft & bribery, NO PSC accountability for crooked employees, Unions out of order, 40% hired on minimum wages,slow/bad service etc. ........... It's not a professionally run service at all.
John 5 years, 8 months ago
Maybe Marvin wants to promote his fish baggers and water borders. But he too (Marvin Dames) will be sent into early retirement on the next election. And his legacy will be that there were more police-involved shootings during his first year as Minister of National Security than in other time in the history of the Bahamas. And there were more complaints of innocent persons being beaten and tortured. And, of course, the Frank Smith case will stand out like a wet feather in his cap and the outcome of the Reckley and Gibson will be more decoration.
boopboop 5 years, 7 months ago
Civil servants are well aware that when they arrive at a certain amount of years of service and depending on their age, that they could be asked to retire or prepare to retire any day, some agencies 25 YOS some 30 YOS. So I do not see anything political about this but some of the commenters here seek to make it that way.
Not allowing the process to take place in a timely manner clogs up the system, stifles growth and upward mobility and causes well meaning, well trained and well qualified younger ones to leave pre-maturely for other opportunities.
I don't see anything sinister about the moves. These officers have all been very busy and have done well. Time is time though. There is life after these jobs and all of us just have to prepare well for it including, succession planning which 99.99% of these places do not have and I'm forced to believe it is by design. You wonder why when Bahamians go to college they dread coming back home.
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