Compliance monitors and lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice told a federal judge on St. Thomas they looked forward to the day when the Virgin Islands Police Department will no longer be subject to a consent decree first imposed in 2009. Testimony and statements to that effect were heard late last week before Chief District Judge Robert Molloy at a compliance hearing.
The court declared VIPD in substantial compliance with directives spelled out in the consent decree in 2018. The agency and its top brass are now working their way through a period of continuous compliance, which, if completed successfully, will bring the matter to an end.
When the directives were set 17 years ago, the U.S. Justice Department said V.I. police were engaged in excessive use of force against citizens, and that investigations of misconduct were inadequate. Officials also cited VIPD for training deficiencies and poor supervision of its officers.
But USDOJ Special Litigation Attorney Jeffrey Murray, in his May 14 status report to Molloy, said all but two of the 51 mandatory compliance steps were still outstanding. “ … VIPD continues working to improve its systems and practices beyond the requirements of the consent decree,” Murray said.
The Independent Monitoring Team identified those sections as Use of Force Management and Supervision. “This marks the third consecutive quarter in which IMT has found VIPD in full compliance with the Management and Supervision requirements,” read the wording in the May 14 report.
Police also signaled progress in their latest status report, filed by former V.I. Attorney General Ariel Smith. “As of May 19, 2026, VIPD had no backlogged Use of Force investigations in either district assigned to command staff,” Smith said.
Both sides acknowledged a handful of Level 1 UOF cases that remained open one year after they were first filed.” This includes three Level 1 Force Investigations that were older than one year … and a citizen complaint investigation that opened in October 2025,” Murray said. “We will continue working with VIPD and IMT to ensure compliance for Use of Force and Management and Supervision is durable, with an eye toward full termination of the Consent Decree.”
At the end of the latest hearing, Molloy set the next evidentiary hearing covering compliance actions from March 1 to May 31 for Aug. 17 at 9 a.m.
