Succession plan works at 911 as local set to take reins
(L-R) Outgoing Director Brent Finster, Chief Officer Eric Bush and new Director Julian Lewis
(CNS): After seven years heading up the Department of Public Safety Communications (DPSC) ,which manages the 911 call centre, Brent Finster will be handing over the reins to a Caymanian when he leaves at the end of next month. Julian D. Lewis will take over as the new director after his successful application for the job.
At a time when the civil service is coming in for considerable criticism over its succession plan failings, Eric Bush, chief officer in the home affairs ministry, said that Finster was one of the first department heads to implement a formal succession plan that “guided training and development needs for staff in the department”. He added, “The rigorous recruitment process proves that succession planning works.”
Lewis, who has served as assistant director in the department’s Electronic Monitoring Centre (EMC) since 2011, was appointed after a public recruitment process. He will now manage the Public Safety Communications Centre, or 911, as well as the Electronic Monitoring Department, which oversees offenders wearing ankle bracelets, and the national closed circuit television (CCTV) programmes.
Lewis has a law degree and previously served in the RCIPS for 11 years. He was one of two Caymanian assistant directors who were being mentored by Finster as part of the succession plan.
About to head what he described as a dynamic and highly dedicated staff that provides service to clients 24-7, Lewis said, “We work in a challenging field where no two days are the same. Yet while the demands on our 24 members of staff are high, they are invariably handled adeptly. Nevertheless, we have to keep up our training and professionalism, so that we continue to provide excellent service to our clients.”
The PSCC’s workload grew by 5.8% in the last fiscal year over the previous one, with 911 calls alone rising by over 20.5% from 79,899 to 96,244, mostly, officials believe, as a result of ‘butt dialing’.
Bush welcomed Lewis to his new job and said he was looking forward to working with him, as he also thanked the departing director.
“Mr Finster has served very ably for over seven years. During that time, he has established an impressive legacy with the implementation of the first national CCTV initiative, the expansion of electronic monitoring, the relentless drive to improve emergency dispatch services and, more recently, the on-boarding of non-emergency dispatch,” Bush stated.
Category: Jobs, Local News
Eric Bush!! How many Caymanians are employed at The Security Centre?
Have a nice day!
How’s that ankle bracelet monitoring system working out?
The ankle bracelet system is working great. You are just too foolish to understand exactly what it was designed for. Guess you believe that there is an electronic monitoring system aka ankle bracket zzzzzzzz. In the world that can stop a criminal from committing a crime. Lesson for the day. The system was meant for your less dangerous clients who are placed under curfew or house arrest. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. A little research helps.
Good job. Able Caymanians are out there just waiting for a fair chance. Remember we built this Little Rock. Way to go!! When one of us succeed we all succeed.
Rock on.
You built nothing When we came it was a mosquito infested rock with a nice beach.
If outside money had not come you would still be living in thatch huts eating turtle and snails
Dude! Why so bitter?
“We built this little rock”? Seriously? If I recall it was British colonialists with their slave labour?
Jefferson Starship c.1985.
Good call. Crappy song.
I thought it was the flight of the financial industry to the next politically stable offshore jurasdiction, in this case Cayman, after the Lyndon Pidling Bahamas era.
Helped of course by the remittances from cheaper, non unionized seafarers from Cayman working on the bulk carrier ships.
wow another great hire in the civil service where are all the positive comments???
Collector of customs filled by a Caymanian
Accountant General – filled by a Caymanian
Chief Officer Education- filled by a Caymanian
Director of Labor and Pensions – filled by a Caymanian
Chief Fire Officer – filled by a non Caymanian
4 out of 5 is not bad and certainly much better than the private sector would have done –
Great change in the civil service!!!
Keep the good news coming
Ummm, are you at all concerned that these appointments perform their jobs well, or is just being Caymanian good enough?
Nope, it’s all about the passport.
This sounds like the DG or someone on his behalf trying to justify his action and get pubic support. Most of the positive comments in defense of the DG and Senior Civil Servants are engineered by them and or written anonymously by them. You can take that to the bank as coming from someone who know this to be a fact.
Stop being so naive. What about the Prison Director; the Police Commissioner, and the Head of Computer Services who they just silently sent home? Do we forget the Lady at Lands and Survey that was such a controversial issue in the LA? The politicians are the ones that approve the funding for all Ministries/Departments at Finance Committee. While the DG may think he has power and is untouchable when it comes to Civil Servants, he need to think again. The power lies with those who control the monies. Have we forgotten a certain lady politician many years ago who refused to vote salary for the then Police Commissioner. The government was forced to get rid of him. However, it take politicians with backbone to take such measures. There are but few presently serving politicians that has the courage to do that which is so sad. The Civil Servants are called to Finance Committee at each budget session and the amount of lies that are told to the politicians are laughable. The politicians sit and take it when in fact some Civil Servants should be jailed for lying to parliament and members of Finance Committee.
8;54. Oh how wrong you are. Are you talking about cayman?
You are clearly out of touch and was probably rolled over.
Next one … Police commissioner
Tried that. Need a reminder as to how it worked out?
Interesting that one of the few Government departments to properly implement succession planning was run by an expatriate. Caymanians please take note!.
It is interesting. If he was allowed to stay he would never leave. As for secession planning, I have to admit that he did what not even the former Chief Immigration Officer was able to do, which was to train someone in his department to succeed him. Yet he was promoted and now talks about succession planning. Where is his example of succession planning?
Give him due credit and stop tearing him down. He’s a human being for gods sake.
Stop being so jealous of our Deputy Governor and his senior team. You complain all you want but if you work on the inside you can feel the difference. The fact that so many people are posting negative comments proves he is doing his job.
Oh by the way I know for a fact that many of those negative posters are persons the deputy governor refused to promote or held them accoutablity for their incredibly poor performance.
Oh, you know that for a fact do you?
I am so pleased with recent appointments in the civil service. Keep being negative but the facts speaks for themselves
Congrats guys; well done. Thanks Brent and proudaya Julian.
Ah shucks, I wanted to make the siren noises…thought that only expats could do that. Who’da thought? I stand corrected and humbled. Us expats better start waking up, all the Caymanians taking our jobs from us…
Great choice congrats to Julian! But again what’s with all the men taking over! Is there any woman at the top management at 911? I am unsure of their structure? Is there any at police?
There certainly are! In the kitchen!
8.46 that is blasphemous-this is Cayman where the men are men and the women are not allowed to have a view. Any God fearing person should know that. The acceptable face of Islamic State.
Are you a closet Muslim? Please go away.
No sweetie I am gay and have your number written on the back of my hand. See you later!
Be what you want to be just stop butt dialing 911.