June 7, 2007 — Gov. John P. deJongh Jr. has named three new law-enforcement officials as part of his administration's pledge "to restructure the leadership of the territory’s top law-enforcement agencies."
On Thursday the governor named Charles Douglas Jones training director and Emmett Hansen II recruiter for the V.I. Police Department. DeJongh also named Elwood York as director of prisons at the Bureau of Corrections.
“I am pleased that Doug Jones accepted the challenge to bring about a new standard of training to the territory’s top law-enforcement agency," deJongh said, according to the news release. "The hiring of a new training director of the VIPD is a promise I made in the early days of the administration and it remains a key component in an ongoing restructuring of the VIPD."
Jones brings more than 24 years of professional investigative and supervisory experience to the position. His law-enforcement work experience includes serving as a special agent for the FBI, a position he was assigned to in the Virgin Islands in 1994.
Throughout his years with the FBI, Jones received several “exceptional/superior performance appraisals,” the news release said. Jones is a certified FBI police instructor, FBI applicant selection board and is considered an expert in both hostage negotiations and media and public relations. Jones served as FBI liaison officer to various FAA and military flight facilities in Florida, Puerto Rico and the territory. Jones is also president, owner and senior investigator of a licensed full-service private investigative agency in Florida.
Jones holds a bachelor of arts from the University of North Carolina, where he majored in history and minored in political science and Spanish. Jones also holds an associate of arts degree from Wingate College in North Carolina. He has worked with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and has extensive experience in police instruction at various law-enforcement academies. He is also a former FAA air-traffic controller and single-engine aircraft pilot.
“Doug Jones’ experience with federal law enforcement in the field of investigations and training will be an invaluable asset to the Virgin Islands Police Department," said Police Commissioner James McCall. "Doug is no stranger to the territory, having served here for several years while with the FBI.”
McCall said he was pleased at the support he received from the governor in expediting the hiring of a training director for the police department.
Former St. Croix Senator Emmett 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, deJongh said.
As a deputy sheriff in Orleans Parish, Hansen’s 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, the news release said.
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.
At the Corrections Bureau, S. Elwood York brings extensive experience to the position of prisons director. He has spent the past 27 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 people arrested, and provided key consultation regarding bond, release and diversion programs. Before that, "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," the news release said.
York also presided over various other correctional directorships at the Department of Corrections in Washington, D.C., and has "expertly managed budgets in the hundreds of millions," the release said. "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."
The release also praised York for his litigation work.
"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," the release said. "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, the release said. 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 U.S. Federal Court, the U.S. 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 V.I. 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. He holds numerous other certifications in the fields of law, health, emergency disaster preparedness, criminal trial advocacy, training and diving.
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