By Melody Wiggins
Caribbean Net News St Croix Correspondent
Email: melody@caribbeannetnews.com
ST CROIX, USVI: USVI Gov. John P. deJongh, Jr. Thursday named S. Elwood York as Director of Prisons at the Bureau of Corrections. De Jongh said this appointment is consistent with the administration’s pledge to restructure the leadership of the territory’s top law enforcement agencies.
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USVI Governor John
deJongh, Jr. Photo:
Susan Mann |
The governor also named a Training Director and Recruiter for the V. I. Police Department.
As the new Prisons Director, York brings extensive experience to the position. He has spent the past twenty-seven years in various legal, correctional, and administrative capacities, including high-level positions in the Virgin Islands as Principal Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice and Acting Director of the Bureau of Corrections, Department of Justice.
York was most recently Director of Pretrial Services on the 16th Judicial Court in Florida where he assessed, made recommendations, and supervised persons arrested and provided key consultation regarding bond, release and diversion programs.
Previous to that posting, York excelled as the Interim Director, District of Columbia Department of Corrections, where he oversaw the operations of a 2,300-bed Central Detention Facility (D.C. Jail) and expertly managed a workforce of more than 900 uniform and civilian employees.
He also presided over various other Correctional Directorships at the Department of Corrections in Washington, DC and has expertly managed budgets in the hundreds of millions. Overall, York holds 20 years of experience as a Civil/Criminal Trial Attorney and Appellate Counsel and is a team-focused Correctional Administrator on principle.
York’s vast and diverse experience in litigation strategy and management, as well as his comprehensive background in correctional management has allowed him to successfully implement strategies that rely on a unique ability to interpret situations where the law is unclear and to provide informed assessments regarding appropriate action for persons arrested, in custody, on bond, or otherwise detained in minimum to maximum security facilities.
His unique skill-set has been consistently expanded throughout his Legal and Corrections employment and his ability to lead and direct operations with a keen eye for legal implications is unmatched.
York is dedicated to continuing his public service and holds a J.D. from Texas Southern University and a Bachelor of Science from Howard University. He is a member of many associations and has been admitted as a Member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the Unites States, the 3rd and 5th Circuits United States Federal Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Southern and Western Federal District Court of Texas. In addition, he is a Member of the Virgin Islands Bar Association, the Texas State Bar, the National Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.
York is also certified in Jail Design and Review, Boot Camp Design and Review, and Managing Change by the National Institute of Corrections and holds numerous other certifications in the fields of law, health, emergency disaster preparedness, criminal trial advocacy, training, and diving.
Also, on Thursday Gov. de Jongh named Charles Douglas Jones as VIPD Training Director and Emmett Hansen II as VIPD Recruiter.
Jones brings more than 24 years of professional investigative and supervisory experience to the position. A former Special Agent for the FBI, Jones is a certified FBI police instructor and considered an expert in hostage negotiations and media and public relations. He served as FBI Liaison Officer to various FAA and military flight facilities in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Jones is also president, owner and senior investigator of a licensed full service private investigative agency, licensed in Florida.
In his new position of Police Recruiter, Hansen will be tasked with the duty of interviewing qualified personnel for entry into the police force in accordance with applicable regulations, along with planning, organizing, coordinating and supervising recruiting activities.
Hansen is a former VI senator and a former Deputy Sheriff in Orleans Parish whose duties included the care, custody and control of approximately 120 inmates on a daily basis. He was required to transport them to the hospital, provide escort duties for inmates moved to other facilities, attorney visits, court dates and to other facilities as ordered.
Most recently, Hansen held the position of Executive Director for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, where he was responsible for recruiting volunteers at the local level to promote the development of personnel policies that accommodate and facilitate employees’ participation in National Guard and Reserve activities. |
