Outcomes - Selected Case Summaries
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Police sexual harassment policy not followed
Investigation | 16 March 2023
Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS)
Our office received a complaint alleging maladministration on the basis that the RCIPS had not responded fully to a sexual harassment complaint in the workplace concerning the actions of a police officer and had failed to provide the complainant with adequate reasons for, or information on, the outcome of the complaint. In addition, it was alleged that the RCIPS had not followed the guidelines in the government’s sexual harassment policy in responding to the complaint made against the officer.
The complaint presented some unusual jurisdictional issues for the Ombudsman in that there had been no criminal investigation of the incident by the RCIPS, and that the matter, in the view of the Ombudsman, extended beyond the scope of a standard workplace grievance. A complaint about an ongoing criminal investigation or a workplace grievance proceeding would have both been non-jurisdictional to our office, but in this case the Ombudsman explained reasons to both parties as to why this matter involved government policy and concerns under section 19 of the CI Constitution Order (lawful administrative action). Attempts to resolve the complaint via informal resolution were unsuccessful.
The subsequent investigation by the Ombudsman found the RCIPS did respond in a variety of ways to the complainant, but took several months to do so, leading to a finding of undue delay in informing the complainant of the outcome of the complaint. The Ombudsman further found that the RCIPS did not provide the complainant adequate reasons for its decision-making in respect to the complaint. The Ombudsman further found the RCIPS did not follow the government’s policy against sexual harassment in the workplace in its response to the complaint.
In light of the findings, the Ombudsman made several recommendations which are currently being reviewed in conjunction with the police:
- That the complainant is provided with written reasons for the RCIPS’s conclusion that the officer’s behavior did not meet the threshold for criminal or disciplinary proceedings.
- That the complainant is provided with a written apology for the delay in dealing with her complaint and the failure to comply with administrative fairness principles contained in the Cayman Islands Constitution.
- That the RCIPS should implement the government’s policy against bullying, harassment and discrimination as part of its internal governance documents and mandate training on its provisions across the organization.
- That the complainant should be compensated for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred as a result of the failure by the RCIPS to follow the government’s policy against sexual harassment, particularly in its failure to provide the complainant with a safe and health work environment.
Toward the end of 2023, it was determined that all recommendations made in this matter were acted upon by the RCIPS and the matter was closed.