Answers to Questions Asked by the Leader of the Oposition to the Premier at the Tenth Sitting of the First Session of the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands held on Tuesday, 22nd July, 2008

~~Adz:Left~~Question 1:

Mr. Speaker, would the Honourable Premier please inform this Honourable house of what is being done about rising crime in the community?

Answer:

Mr. Speaker Sir, I am pleased to inform this Honourable House that the Government is reinforcing its zero tolerance policy for violent crimes in out society. The BVI is home to us all and like we do with our private homes, we have to protect it. We have to do whatever is necessary to reduce the potential impact of the criminal elements that exist in our midst. 

In recognition of this fact Mr Speaker, that effectively dealing with crime requires a collaborative effort, we are seeking to engage a multi-sectoral approach to help curb the rise in crime.

We are working with the churches and religious leaders to have them encourage their respective congregations to refrain from becoming embroiled in illicit activity as well as initiate a season of prayer particularly during this festive season.

Mr. Speaker, we are mobilizing the entire community to recognize the importance of being our brother’s keeper. We are appealing to them to keep a keen eye on their respective neighbourhoods. Although we recognize the value of this informal arrangement, we are also proposing the establishment of various neighbourhood watches. These programmes which are run at the community level have proven to be quite effective as a deterrent to crime since criminal elements prefer to operate in conditions where people are likely to turn a blind eye to their activity. Let us show the perpetrators that we are saying a resounding ‘NO’ to crime and violence.

As we mobilize the community, Mr Speaker, we make a special appeal to the parents of our young people. As working parents, we recognize the inherent difficulty in maintaining a 24-hour watch on our children, particularly during the lengthy vacation. However, the onus is on us to provide the necessary guidance and ensure that our young people are engaged in positive activities that will stimulate their young minds and reduce the likelihood of them being involved in criminal activity or of being led astray and becoming victims of criminal elements. 

Mr. Speaker, the government is building links to the Territories Youth.  Already we have formed a Cadet Corp to strengthen the relationship between the youth of this Territory and the Force (and one would hope that some of these individuals would aspire to become the police officers of tomorrow).

We recognize too Mr. Speaker, that community groups have an important role to play at the grassroots level and as such we encourage them to create more positive activities within the various communities. Get people more involved in their communities, re-develop the kinship of years gone by and strengthen the bonds that will seal our communities from penetration by the perpetrators of crime.

On the ground level, Mr. Speaker, the Crime Prevention Unit within the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force has an ongoing educational drive to inform the schools and in the community about the negative effects of crime and the measures to be taken to reduce the risks of becoming a victim.

Part of the information drive has been the publication of ‘Crime Prevention Tips which includes steps to be taken to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of burglary, armed robbery and personal injury.

Similarly, the unit conducts security surveys to identify areas of weaknesses on their premises of business owners, and additional ‘target hardening” measures that should be taken to discourage burglars and armed robbers. This approach was just completed on Virgin Gorda during day and night visits.

As part of the strategic approach, a separate team of officers will be deployed to visit various districts for the purpose of interacting more with the community in dealing with non-criminal matters (to identify young people in need of big brother/big sister support; young men who are in need of a job, etc) as part of the community-policing based initiative. It is hope that the above initiative will also further develop public trust and support.

The various service organizations with local chapters in the BVI also need to get on board with this effort to rid our society of crime.  We encourage them to strengthen their membership drives and get more people involved in positive activity which at the end of the day, will contribute to the overall development of the Territory.

Mr. Speaker, we are also appealing to the various media organizations to play a meaningful role in publicizing our efforts to get the entire community mobilized.

Mr. Speaker, greater use will be made of intelligence to direct police activity that stem from the work of the Joint Intelligence Unit (staffed by members of the Police, Customs and Immigration Departments). The employment of an intelligence specialist is also to take place shortly.  It is anticipated that this collaborative work would have a great impact on prevention and solution of crimes.

Mr. Speaker, in our effort to combat crime, increased training and building policing capability is to be ongoing.  The Commissioner of Police is currently in the UK conducting interviews for 7 former UK officers to join the RVIPF for a period of 2 years. These UK officers will undertake a range of training and mentoring initiatives to share their experience and skills with the force. They will be deployed specifically to:

• Develop techniques to improve investigation and intelligence gathering. This will include areas such as crime scene management and covert policing techniques;

• Share expertise and provide training in maritime policing. This will ensure our Marine Unit is continually trained in areas of navigation, safety at sea, engineering and border protection;

• Develop strategies to improve the relationship between the community and the police such as working with my senior managers on ensuring the force public consultation process is as effective as it can be.

As well as this training focus, a number of these officers will join existing teams with RVIPF personnel to investigate outstanding murders and provide specialist advice as we seek to tackle areas of other serious crime such as armed robberies and burglaries.

Mr. Speaker, just yesterday morning, I spoke at the opening ceremony of a training workshop for 16 Immigration Officers; a training workshop which is being facilitated by two United Kingdom Immigration Training Officers.  The course is designed to help Immigration Officers detect forged documents so that unwanted persons would not be able to enter the Territory.  The Immigration Department is going to be beefed up and provision in the law regarding deportation will be strictly enforced so that if someone commits a crime punishable by three months or more imprisonment, as soon as he or she serves their time that person would be deported from the Territory. ~~Adz:Right~~

Mr. Speaker, in closing, allow me to re-affirm the importance of team spirit in this effort. We cannot by ourselves rid the Territory of crime. It has to be a community-wide effort, we all have to become watchdogs of the community, working towards a single objective, that of reducing our susceptibility to criminal elements. As we intensify our efforts to address the rise in crime, I urge you to be patient as a more substantial plan, outlining specific response mechanisms will be provided in the near future.

Finally, I would say that prevention of crime is not only for the Government, but we all share the responsibility.  Government, Opposition, the public and the Community at large, all play a part in this battle.

Mr. Speaker, I remember when the Honourable Andrew Fahie got injured in the Development Bank.  The then Chief Minister sought me out in Anegada and asked me to come back to Tortola as soon as possible as he was having a meeting with the Governor and he wanted me to be there.  Yes Mr. Speaker, I immediately obliged and I attended the meeting; and I believe that the Leader of the Opposition and any Member of Parliament would attend a meeting and make the necessary contributions.
 
Question 2:     

Mr. Speaker, would the Honourable Premier please inform this Honourable House whether his government would reconsider building a haul out ramp for the fishermen in Virgin Gorda on the beach at Spanish Town which is the main entrance for visitors to Virgin Gorda?

Answer:

Mr. Speaker Sir, I am advised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour that people of Virgin Gorda especially the fishermen had been well informed about the arrangements for the haul out ramp and that they were happy to have the ramp in the spot where it is presently being built.  In fact, they were the ones who identified the area.  I am further informed, Mr. Speaker, that at one point it was suggested that the ramp be located on the other side of the dock close to the Port Authority building but the fishermen rejected that idea.

Mr. Speaker, the Ministry is at the point now where it would be a waste of public funds to change the site or halt the project.

Mr. Speaker, I myself was up at the opening ceremony when the work started and I did not hear any objections at all, but of course, Mr. Speaker in this place, rumours get around and I was told that something is being built there for the fishermen to clean their fish but that is not what I understand is going there. It is just something to assist the fellows who have to haul their boats, to haul them up and dry them, but not to clean their fish.