VIPA Struggles to Fill Law Enforcement Ranks on St. Croix Despite $5K Sign-on Bonus

Despite offering a $5,000 sign-on bonus for new recruits in the St. Croix district, the V.I. Port Authority’s law enforcement department continues to face challenges in attracting team members, according to VIPA’s assistant executive director Bill Rawlins, who testified on the matter before the Committee on Homeland Security, Justice, and Public Safety on Tuesday.

VIPA currently employs 22 law enforcement officers in the St. Thomas/St. John district and 10 officers on St. Croix. The officers are responsible for “protecting life and property” at the territory’s airports and seaports. To address “serious staffing challenges”, Mr. Rawlins told lawmakers that VIPA is currently engaging in an “aggressive recruitment program” which includes the additional financial incentive. However, that dangling carrot seems to go unnoticed as the perk has been in place for two to three years at this point, with few positive responses to date. Lawmakers learned that applicants on St. Thomas/St. John qualify for a smaller bonus – $1000 – and in both districts, the bonuses would be paid out after a successful six-month probationary period.

By way of reply to Senator Dwayne DeGraff, VIPA revealed that a recruit does not currently have to commit to working for the authority for any amount of time after receiving the bonus. They are hoping to change that policy once new contracts are ratified. For Senator Alma Francis-Heyliger, the fact that the bonus is taxed “might be part of the problem.” “By the time you take out taxes, you ain’t really incentivizing me at all.…Maybe if you bump it up, and they do walk away with $5,000, that might be a different story,” she suggested.