Town Meeting Hosted by VIPD

The Virgin Islands Police Department recently collaborated with the St. Croix Citizen Integration Team (CIT) and Neighborhood Watch groups in holding a town meeting to discuss citizen concerns regarding public safety. The meeting was held at the Pearl B. Larsen School in Christiansted on Thursday, May 25, 2006 and was attended by approximately 50 people. Assistant Police Commissioner Novelle E. Francis, Jr. and Deputy Chief Herminio Velasquez were present. Officers from the Youth Investigation Bureau, the Criminal Investigation Bureau, and the Ancilmo Marshall Command in Christiansted were also in attendance.

According to Assistant Police Commissioner Francis the meeting reflects the Department’s desire to be more responsive to community issues. “Public safety is a cooperative and community effort that involves both the police department and residents of the community,” he says. The Virgin Islands Police Department recently collaborated with Frederiksted-based community groups in hosting a town meeting to address parking and traffic concerns in that town.

Police officials hoped to use Thursday’s meeting to encourage St. Croix residents to become more involved in Neighborhood Watch programs and other Community Policing initiatives. During the two-hour long meeting, residents voiced their concerns about the break-ins occurring around the island, reports of attempted carjackings and the police presence in the neighborhoods constituting the mid-island to eastern portions of the island.

Police officials say the increase in criminal activity can be attributed to the increase in juvenile crime. Police officials and the group agreed that both parents and the community need to take a more pro-active approach in addressing juvenile crime. Sgt. Arthur Hector, Commander of the Youth Investigation Bureau, spoke of his unit’s plans to do more classroom presentations in order to have better one-on-one interaction with the students.

At Thursday’s meeting, department officials re-committed their resources to improving patrols in the Christiansted area. Assistant Police Commissioner Francis and Corporal Sheila Middleton, Coordinator of the island’s Neighborhood Watch program, urged the residents to implement neighborhood Watch programs and become more involved in community policing efforts. “Communities need Neighborhood Watch,” said Corporal Middleton. She encouraged the group to “keep the ball rolling”. Middleton summed up the sentiments of the department when she said, “Crime is layers of preventive measures. We have to work together.”

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