Dominica
| Author | George Kurian |
| Pages | 352-353 |
Page 352
Official country name: Commonwealth of Dominica
Capital: Roseau
Geographic description: An island in the Caribbean Sea between the Dominica Channel and the Dominica Passage
Population: 69,029 (est. 2005)
The Dominica Police Force is an agency that was formed by the British and inherited by the independent republic. It is headed by a chief of police who is also the traffic commissioner. There are twenty police stations on the island. Training is provided by the Police Training School at Morne Bruce, northeast of Roseau.
The police have an Internal Affairs Department that investigates public complaints against the police. The unit received fifty-five complaints during 2003, of which twenty-two alleged excessive use of force. Several officers attend human rights training courses in Trinidad.
Since Dominica does not have a military force, there is a Special Service Unit within the police force to serve any external security needs.
Total Police Personnel: 232
Population per Police Officer: 297
Offenses reported to the police per 100,000 population: 9,567. Of which:
Murder: 7.9
Assault: 682.4
Burglary: 1,736
Automobile Theft: 77.6
Prisons are administered by the superintendent of prisons of the Dominica Prisons Service under the Office of the Prime Minister.
Although prison conditions are austere, inmates are provided work therapy, music, sports programs, educational opportunities, and counseling.
Page 353
Prisoners have access to fresh pork from pigs raised at the prison. Women are segregated from men and juveniles from adults, but pretrial detainees are housed with convicted felons.
There is only one prison on the island, the Goodwill Prison at Roseau, with an official capacity of 175 and a total prison population of 298. The occupancy level is 143.3 percent. The incarceration rate is 420 per 100,000 population. Of the total inmate population, 43.4 percent are pretrial detainees and 2.1 percent are female.
George Thomas Kurian
To continue reading
Request your trial