From a pool of 803 applicants, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service was left with relatively few finalists from its recent recruitment efforts.
The service advanced with 29 final candidates — 16 recruit police constables and 13 recruit auxiliary constables — or just 3.6% of applicants.
Commissioner Kurt Walton said the low selection rate comes down to maintaining high standards for employees.
The police service recently pushed back against critics who suggested the RCIPS “deliberately failed Caymanians in the recent local police recruitment drive to favour hiring nationals from other jurisdictions”.
“We categorically state that this information is inaccurate and misleading,” RCIPS said in a press release on Saturday.
The service began its most recent recruitment campaign in April, which it said specifically aimed to bring in more Caymanians and permanent residents with the right to work.
They received applications from 803 people. Of those, police said only 354 met the basic eligibility requirements to continue.
Those requirements include being a Caymanian or permanent resident with the right to work without restrictions. Candidates must also be physically fit, computer literate and have at least a high school diploma or GED, with a minimum five CXC passes, two being in maths and English.
More cuts
Further vetting brought the applicants down to 137 people, who were invited to take an entrance exam on numeracy, literacy and comprehension skills.
RCIPS said several candidates couldn’t make the 1 June testing date.
“Every effort has been made to accommodate these candidates by scheduling further opportunities to sit the examination,” the press release said, noting the process is ongoing.
Further whittled down to 51 candidates, the remainder had the opportunity to take a fitness test. Eight candidates were then cut when police found “discrepancies” in their eligibility criteria.
Finally, 16 candidates met the eligibility requirements for recruit police constables, and 13 qualified for recruit auxiliary constables.
“As commissioner of police,” Walton said in the press release, “I want to emphasize that we will not compromise the standards of the RCIPS by employing individuals who do not meet the requirements to become police officers.”
He continued, “Our commitment is to upholding the highest standards of integrity, fairness and transparency throughout the recruitment process.”
During a press conference on 24 April, Walton also noted that the police force naturally experiences attrition as officers retire or leave the force for other reasons.
“We tend to average between 15 and 20 staff per year,” he said.
The deadline for the summer recruitment programme was 14 May, but details about eligibility requirements are available at www.rcips.ky/newrecruits.
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One does not need to be an Einstein to become a police constable, yet out of 803 applicants only 16 qualified. This is a sad commentary on the state of education in the Cayman Islands.