Winsburt McFarlane Still With V.I.P.D.; Police Chiefs Not Negatively Impacted By His Presence, Commish Richards Says

ST. CROIX — Police Commissioner Delroy Richards on Monday told The Consortium that Winsburt McFarlane, currently heading the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs’ enforcement arm, and on a special contract with the V.I.P.D. overseeing the force’s special operations and initiatives, was recently sent away for training in preparation for some new operations that the V.I.P.D. is getting ready to implement.

This shows Mr. McFarlane’s importance to Mr. Richards, who has seen a decrease in criminal activity since Mr. McFarlane was assigned to the V.I.P.D. back in December of last year.

But Mr. Richards said after the 6-month contract expires in June, Mr. McFarlane will go back to D.L.C.A., “unless there’s some other agreement between me and [Devin Carrington]. If there is a need for any extension, I will then discuss that with the D.L.C.A. commissioner,” he said.

The clarification comes as many in the community have contended that Mr. McFarlane is better suited to work at the police department, where he spent most of his professional career before being placed at D.L.C.A.

And the notion that Mr. McFarlane has been essentially running the St. Croix arm of the police department while Police Chief Arthur Hector, Sr. sits on the sidelines, is not true, Mr. Richards contended, telling The Consortium that Mr. McFarlane was placed over the peace officers — not the entire police force — when Governor Kenneth Mapp signed an emergency executive order in December 2015 in an attempt to quell gun violence.

“The chiefs still have their basic responsibilities, so to are the deputy chiefs,” he said.

Mr. Richards statement seems to contradict what he told The Consortium in December, when he said that Mr. McFarlane was given “full oversight over special operations and initiatives on St. Croix.” It could be that the special operations team did not include police officers, but rather the peace officers assigned to the police department during the duration of the executive order.

Either way, Mr. Richards made it abundantly clear that the police chiefs were still playing their essential roles within the V.I.P.D.

“I’m telling folks we have to stop the assumptions,” he said.

Feature Image: V.I.P.D. officers investigate a crime scene on Centerline Road near the Central High School in September, 2015.

Image Credit: VIC.