Assistant police commissioner recruited from UK

(CNS): The Police Service Commission (PSC) has appointed a former officer from London’s Metropolitan Police Service to a new leadership job in the RCIPS. Robert Atkin MBE is the Cayman Islands’ first assistant commissioner of police (ACP), a new rank immediately below the position of deputy commissioner, currently held by Anthony Ennis. Governor Jane Owen, who chairs the PSC, said she was pleased to see the appointment of “a highly experienced and capable candidate… who brings years of policing expertise”.

Commissioner of Police Kurt Walton congratulated and welcomed Atkin on his selection and said he looked forward to working closely with him on developing plans to deliver on the recently released RCIPS Strategic Policing Plan 2024-2026.

“We have much work to do, and ACP Atkin’s experience and expertise will no doubt offer fresh perspectives on how we can tackle the tasks ahead of us,” Walton said.

Despite the accolades from the governor, the police commissioner and other government officials in a press release about the former Met chief superintendent, in 2020, a UK policing misconduct panel found he had breached the standards of professional behaviour.

“The panel considered Chief Supt Atkin made unwise decisions and showed poor judgment rather than displaying deliberate wrong-doing and therefore the breaches proven were at the level of misconduct and not gross misconduct.”

The allegations resulted from his efforts to promote the professional development of a female officer with whom he was in a personal relationship. It was also alleged that he showed the officer the assessment papers with the intention of providing her with an unfair advantage.

According to the Police Professional magazine, the MPS misconduct panel that heard his case found that he had “breached the standards of professional behaviour in respect of authority, respect and courtesy, and this was at the level of misconduct”.

The press release from the PSC about Atkin’s appointment did not mention this blip on the veteran officer’s career, nor did it mention other candidates. CNS asked for information on whether or not any local officers had applied for the new role and the commission simply told us that there were local applicants in the recruitment process.

The release said that Atkin began his policing career with the MPS in 1990. In 2014, he became chief superintendent, and took over as commander for aviation policing in 2016. He was appointed commander for the MPS’s Specialist Firearms Department in 2018. He went on to lead recruitment for the MPS, before becoming the commander for Southeast London in 2020.

In May 2021, Atkin transferred to the City of London Police, where he was responsible for HQ services. His final job there was directorate head, responsible for all uniform policing operations and departments.

“Being appointed as Assistant Commissioner of Police for the RCIPS is an honour and privilege. I look forward to working across the RCIPS units to ensure our staff have the absolute best leadership, support and care so they can do their best job for our communities,” he said.