Outcomes - Selected Case Summaries
Categories
 Complaint against the RCIPS
Investigation | 12 December 2023
Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS)
The complainant had a one-vehicle accident and unintentionally damaged two tyres of the assigned work vehicle. On Friday the day of the accident, the complainant submitted a verbal report of the incident but not a formal claims form. The fleet manager indicated that an email distributed to all employees stated the claim was to be sent within 24-hours. Despite being sent the next business day it was not accepted as within the 24-hour period. Estimates for the repair was not discussed but upon submission of complaints the amount was recalculated and finally the deductible for the insurance claim was deducted from the complainant's salary without prior notification.
The RCIPS conceded that there were no written policies for this specific situation as section 107 the Police Act had been generally applied to similar accidents. The Ombudsman concluded that there was maladministration and stipulated two recommendations for the RCIPS to complete within a stated period: 1) provide written policies on how to determine liability of employees who accidently damage assigned work vehicles and 2) distribute their proposed reimbursement within 30 days.