FORUM: CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN THE 21ST CENTURY: SERVE AND PROTECT

Most of the Territory’s citizens believe the Virgin Islands Police Department is the center of all law enforcement and therefore the target of much frustration and blame. In reality, the VIPD is only one part of the criminal justice landscape. In October of 2005, Police Commissioner Elton Lewis presented to Senate President Lorraine L. Berry a forum proposal to bring all the involved parties together to discuss the issues facing the region. Senator Berry’s excellent track record of conducting and hosting this type of forum ensured that this event would be illuminating and productive.

The Honorable Senator Lorraine L. Berry enthusiastically embraced the idea. From feedback received each week, it has become evident that citizens of the Virgin Islands feel the Territory is experiencing an unusually high rate of crime in relation to our Caribbean neighbors. The questions continue to be raised: why are we having so much crime; why is our crime on the rise; why so many homicides…aren’t the police doing their jobs?

The Commissioner invited three of his counterparts from other islands to respond to those questions in the context of their jurisdictions, so the citizens, community leaders and senators could see that the U.S. Virgin Islands is certainly not alone.

The Honorable Reynell Frazer, Royal British Virgin Islands Police Force, the Honorable Robert Jeffers, Police Commissioner, St. Kitts/Nevis and the Honorable Shannondor Evans, Police Superintendent, Royal Bahamas Police Force were on hand to participate in the panel discussions. Each of them supported the fact that we all share common concerns and that their primary focus is on crime prevention and that many challenges are shared across the Caribbean region.

This forum is just the beginning and we certainly have much hard work yet to do. The participation of the Commissioner’s peers in the Caribbean Police Exchange Program and the Forum on Criminal Justice proves the old adage true; there is strength in numbers.

With the Forum, the Caribbean Police Exchange Program, the Strategic Plan and planned operational partnerships we are building a solid foundation for Caribbean law enforcement, a foundation based on communication, cooperation, friendship, common need and a commitment to all the citizens of the Caribbean.

Just five years ago, the idea of working together with our law enforcement and intelligence counterparts in the Caribbean was as farfetched as purchasing merchandise from your computer or on-line Internet learning, but times have changed.

The Caribbean itself has changed and we in the region are becoming increasingly aware that we are all truly brothers and sisters. The Commissioner’s goal is to use all of the many partnerships that he has established and the “strength in numbers” approach to win the war on crime in the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean. The Forum on Criminal Justice was a demonstrable success and met or exceeded all the objectives established. Future forums will build on this foundation and bring better law enforcement to the region.

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