Marigot Police Station in deplorable state; officers feel abandoned

The police station is located on the bottom floor of this building

Officers at the Marigot Police Station have said the station is in a terrible condition after Hurricane Maria and they feel abandoned by the Police High Command.

The roof of the building where the station is housed was blown away by the storm and officers say since then no repairs have been made.

Police sources at the station told DNO that after the storm they were visited by Deputy Police Chief Davidson Valerie and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security Jo-Anne Commodore but nothing has been done.

The officers say water from the roof is a major problem whenever it rains.

Added to that that the station is infested with mold and mosquitos.

One officer has fallen sick twice because of the conditions and others have been complaining of severe coughs.

Other institutions operating in the building, such as the Treasury Department and Magistrate’s Court, have been relocated but the police station remains.

“The situation is bad, we feel abandoned,” one officer told DNO.

DNO was told that other police stations on the east coast that received damage during Maria have been repaired, while the Marigot Police Station remains untouched.

The officers are now calling on Police Chief Daniel to visit the station to witness the conditions himself.

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28 Comments

  1. Neverson st jean
    December 12, 2017

    Don’t worry there is a smart police station comming soon

    • Paul Rossnof
      December 12, 2017

      I hope we’ll get a smart government and an even smarter PM soon too.

  2. Kermit
    December 11, 2017

    Is the Marigot Police station the government building or are they renting from someone? Because if they are renting from someone it is the person duty to renovate their own place.

    • Anonymous
      December 13, 2017

      And it is the government’s duty to see to it that their police officers are decently housed. If they are renting, you may ask who owns the building and if full rent is still being paid? I certainly hope not but in Skerrit’s Dominica anything is possible.

  3. Trevor Fabien
    December 11, 2017

    I have been reading the comments on here and though this story is a sad one. Some of the comments are even more disturbing. It is heartbreaking to see that some Dominicans cant seem to differentiate between self hep and governance and government responsibility.
    Sadly, that is the way things seem to be in Dominica. People no longer know what the government role and responsibilities are. The responsibilities of the people and the government have become intertwined and interwoven and this is creating a total lack of understanding of the governments role within the communities and the country.

    So now we have a very peculiar situation where persons are not aware of their constitutional rights, they cant hold the government to account because they are simply confused and ignorant of the role of the government. This confusion has come about simply because the government has abdicated its role as a proponent of good governance, which has brought about a self help and unregulated country

  4. Shameless
    December 11, 2017

    Now if the government gave the police tarpaulins and they have not found the time to hire a contractor to cover the affected areas and treat the mould then its upon the police high command. Also, if Carbon has not found it fit to lobby the government for tapaulins then again this is GROSS incompetence and mismanagement which again requires him and his deputy to be fired forthwith. You cannot have officers working overtime, stressed out and suffering from PTSD living in such deplorable conditions and expecting high performance. That is insanity!! :twisted: :twisted:

    Blackmore, Valarie and Carbon need to find a temporary fix immediately. Don’t punish the officers simply because Marigot is LL’s constituency. From deplorable hospital to police station? Come on man! :twisted: Where does the politics stop? The officers need to go on strike/ a walk out immediately until the issue is addressed.

    Assertive as LL! :twisted:

  5. Bro
    December 11, 2017

    So them police officers couldn’t put in a couple days work to cover the roof in tarpoline and to clean up the spot? The Jamaican solders came in an built bridges in under a week, what good are our cops to our society? Not everything is govt, they could patch up and help themselves. They do no volunteer work in the communities and exhibit no role model qualities. You can never see Dominican police helping clean a drain, construct a community project or anything. And yes that should be part of their job description to foster better relationships with their communities.

    But then again, we have the labour commissioner saying it’s not the employee’s job to clean up and do repairs so I guess it’s coming back to haunt th govt.

    • Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
      December 11, 2017

      Guy, you are an idiot!

      It is not the duty of any civil servant to serve the government in any capacity for free. The people from Jamaica who came, they came as a curtsey, sent by the Jamaica government to help in an emergency. That is not their regular job in Jamaica! Our people are ignorant; we talk too much nonsense as if we know what we are talking about causing embarrassment to ourselves!

      Why should a police officer climb a building and spread tarps over the roof; that is not their job responsibility! If those who got sick from living in such infested dilapidated condition would sue the government for millions of dollars, I bet you would see a change in the governments attitude.

      You should suggest the government employ people do such remedial work; Shut up if you have nothing to say!

      • Bro
        December 11, 2017

        One has to wonder- and DNO if you could please do a follow up on this issue- is the Marigot police station the only govt building which lost its roof during Maria? Schools, hospitals, health centers, police stations and fire stations nationwide suffered damage. And most across the country have since removed molding material and cover in tarpoline. I’m talking about convent high in Roseau, the health center in Calibishie and the fire station in Castle Bruce- just to give a board example of building which were temporarily fixed. Who fixed these building? A mixture of overseas aid workers and local volunteers.

        This has to be what the readers of this article has to compare this against. For a new station to be rebuilt, after designing, tendering and construction- it would take a min 18 months. Yes the station could be relocated but to where? Isnt housing an issue? We need to be real- the police are able bodied men who should be capable of doing a 2 day repair job. Rhe tarp is free!

  6. John Jay
    December 11, 2017

    This police chief work at this station quit a while so he should know the ply of our men. Shame.

  7. Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
    December 11, 2017

    “The roof of the building where the station is housed was blown away by the storm and officers say since then no repairs have been made.”

    Indeed Maria, did some damage; however, we should not forget that prior to the hurricane the very Station was in a deplorable, dilapidated condition, decaying: The police Station is located in the same location as the rotten down hospital, both buildings were long taken over by mold and rodents, and ignored by the government, for no other than political reasons; whereas Marigot and Wesley people do not vote for Skerrit candidates!

    The government will blame everything on Maria; but the people must not forget the bad conditions existed years before Erika, and Maria! So, one wonders will the hospital, and the police Station ever be rebuilt? 

  8. jihan
    December 11, 2017

    Walk away from this building immediately,mold cause cancer and asthma related illnesses.This should not be political.

  9. Josie
    December 11, 2017

    If the powers that be could prevent the green from growing on trees that would still be a problem right now, but thank God there are some things they cannot take credit for.

  10. December 11, 2017

    That is what you call prudent financial management :) . Giving public servants double tax free salary at a time when govt revenue is close to zero is a stroke of pure genius. It would not cost 100k to knock some galvanize on the Marigot police station to make it more habitable for the officers. All public buildings should be given priority at this time, yet we have a government paying bonus to public servants at a time when Dominica is begging for financial assistance from international community. Why didn’t the government delay this payment to public servants and use those funds for urgent infrastructure work. Civil servants got their salary every month since Maria so waiting a little longer to their agreement settled should not be a problem.

    • Original Mahaut Man
      December 12, 2017

      I agree that the government should give public building the priority, but the building dont only need galvanize the building need’s a complete new roof.Is this the only public building that the roof need’s to be repaired?That’s what you are saying now ,if it was the opposite way then you and the PSU president would be saying that the Government is disrespecting the civil servants.So get you facts right.

  11. Pamala
    December 11, 2017

    It’s a shame to have officers working like this call in sick when all u go off if the Sgt alone stay there they must do something about it

  12. Asaka W.
    December 11, 2017

    This is unacceptable…….. they should be prioritized as they are our security forces and we should take care of them..

    • 1/2 Dominician
      December 11, 2017

      the whole of Dominica is in the same condition from the hurricane, what you expect. Ho much money has Linton raised to help in some ways.

      • Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
        December 11, 2017

        Every fool should simply hang themselves,  a hungry dog  barks the loudest!

        Psychologically, the abused usually cleave to their abuser!

  13. Justiceforall
    December 11, 2017

    Close the station until something positive is done.

  14. Josie
    December 11, 2017

    As usual, people are asking others to do what the government has to do. This is why Dominica will not be going anywhere anytime soon. We shall continue to hop around the world begging and teaching our people to beg. If the govt is all over the world begging, exactly what are they begging for? Are they including damaged properties in their begging package and don’t intend to do anything. Well as usual, this is nothing new,incompetence has just magnified after Maria.

  15. Crap'o Hall
    December 11, 2017

    Where is the representatives for Marigot? Village council, labor party supporters,opposition, whom ever, somebody do whatever it takes to rectify the situation. This should not be about politics, this should be about public safety and the well being of our police officers, as much as they are maligned, they are needed to uphold the law. We do not need for anyone to gain political points for getting the repairs done. Lennox go to Skerrit, get it done, we do not have to know about it. We just want the roof on and the building hospitable.

    • Josie
      December 11, 2017

      I am so sick of the Do it yourself mentality of the people. What the use of the various Ministries of Government and the Minister and PS etc. What really is their job? Where do you people hear of citizens of a community building their own police station? All aspects of the fabric of the country is breaking down and people are afraid to call on those responsible for our infrastructures. A useless 18 million dollars was spent on a bridge, yet you people watch the rest of the country fall apart while you all celebrate this non priority project. For once, can someone call on the Government to HAVE a plan. If the people of each community have to rebuild their own institutions then there is no Use to have a national Leader with various offices. We are not talking about cutting grass on the side of the road, we are not talking about planting flowers, we are talking about a police Station, a hospital, an airport.

      • Paul Rossnof
        December 11, 2017

        All these Ministers are in all reality without any power and saying at all. The big boss controls everything and these guys have been installed by Skerrit for loyal service to him. Now they are being paid by the state for doing absolutely nothing. They are just there and look pretty, well some prettier than others. I just don’t get it that Dominicans do not even question the status quo let alone challenge it. This island is on steep downward spiral and I wonder if it will ever recover again.

      • December 11, 2017

        Only someone who so far gone would disagree with the public when they are calling for a better hospital for Roseau, Marigot and Portsmouth, better police station all around the Island and a new airport because the Melville Hall river is paying us back when we interfered with the lay out of the river and will forever be paying the price, the airport will always be flooding Now those institutions are priority and those are needed immediately , the funds are not from the PM pocket it’s from the monies he received to rebuild the Island and if the people don’t insist on making sure these items are rebuild we will never see or know what become of the funds. We sit back with our mouths ceiled we refuse to speak out, the Marigot people are doing nothing and hopping Linton will do it for them, yes he has to do whatever he can but the people have to start speaking out demand what is need and those three institutions are needed in Marigot and for all the people of the Island, enough is enough

      • Crap'o Hall
        December 11, 2017

        I agree with you. I am saying someone in Marigot, the labour supporters, whomever should get the government to do what it is suppose to do.

  16. AA
    December 11, 2017

    Well all you working in it so to bad for all you take what all you get. Stay their still and do not stand for all you rights. The PM passes that route every time he goes on his many trips and all you working in such deplorable conditions and all you saying nothing all you union saying nothing and all you still working???? TAKE WHAT ALL YOU GET

  17. Ibo France
    December 11, 2017

    Mold infestation has been allowed to fester in a hospital (Health) now a police station (Security). The two top priorities of a government are SECURITY and HEALTH. When a government allows these two institutions to fall into a despicable state of disrepair, it indicates that those at the pinnacle of power in the country are either grossly incompetent or deliberately uncaring. This is scandalous! This is indefensible! How does anyone expect anybody to give their best working under such deplorable conditions? One of the greatest obstacles to progress in Dominica is the blind and sheep-like supporters of the present ruling regime. They would want the citizens to hand wave these appalling transgressions away. The government is failing the people miserably.

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