If there was ever one message that I want to disseminate during my last year it is that the war on crime is a partnership. This week has been a model of partnerships on a variety of fronts.

1. Professional,
2. Community,
3. Regional,
4. Media,
5. Government and;
6. Individual Citizens.

I personally experienced partnerships from each one of these groups this week and I am grateful and proud.

Some more specific examples of these partnerships that facilitated and demonstrated the support of law enforcement were TV2, for producing and airing the public service announcements, WJKC for producing radio spots, the Source, Avis, Tradewinds and the DailyNews for their accurate coverage, St. Croix Foundation and the St. Thomas 100 Club for helping fund both the Caribbean Exchange Program and Forum, the General Manager of Wyndham Sugar Bay for his continuous generosity and hospitality, the newly elected Union leadership for their participation and support and last but certainly not least, the members of the Criminal Justice Community for their unwavering commitment and dedication to the quality of life in the Virgin Islands. I thank all of you for your unique and continued contribution in fighting the war on crime.

Several months ago I shared my idea on having a Forum on Criminal Justice. The idea came to me after two years of listening to ideas, discussions and many complaints. It was obvious, as I mentioned several articles ago, that citizens were just not aware of how the Criminal Justice System works. It was also quite obvious that most of the citizens believed the Virgin Islands Police Department was the center of all law enforcement and therefore became the recipient of much frustration and blame.

I developed a proposal and was aware that the Honorable, Senate President, Lorraine L. Berry had an excellent track record conducting and hosting the type of Forum I was envisioning. She graciously embraced the idea. The Forum on Criminal Justice was a measurable success and met all the objectives established. I want to thank the Honorable Senator Lorraine L. Berry for hosting this initiative. Secondly, I want to express my appreciation to Dr. Malik Sekou, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Political Science-History, and University of the Virgin Islands for moderating this event.

From feedback I received each week I also became aware that citizens of the Virgin Islands felt the Territory was experiencing an exorbitant amount of crime in relation to our Caribbean neighbors. The question continues to arise, “why are we having so much crime, why is ours on the rise, why so many homicides…aren’t you doing your job?” I invited three of my colleagues to respond to those questions in the context of their jurisdiction so the citizens, community leaders and senators could see that the U.S. Virgin Islands is certainly not alone. I also wanted this same audience to become more informed on where the causes of crime originate. That is another article but allow me to share that much of the emphasis was on education, youth and parenting.

I invited 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. Each supported the fact that we all share common concerns and that their primary focus is on crime prevention and that the many challenges are shared across the board.

In addition to the Forum and in accordance with the Inter Virgin Islands Council, I and members of my staff met with Reynell Frazer, Police Commissioner, and Royal British Police Force’s staff to develop a comprehensive partnership action plan. The execution of this plan will create working partnerships with the respective bureaus, sections and units within each department. We believe combining resources is a sure way to better and faster solutions.

All in all the outcome of more awareness was achieved. This is just the beginning and we certainly have a long way to go. The participation of my peers in the Caribbean Exchange and the Forum on Criminal Justice proves the old adage true: there is strength in numbers.

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

Just five years ago, the idea of working together with law enforcement and intelligence counterparts in the Caribbean was as farfetched as purchasing merchandise from your computer or on-line learning on the Internet. But times have changed. The Caribbean itself has changed and we are becoming more aware that we are truly brothers and sisters. My goal is to use all the partnerships I’ve established and the strength in numbers approach to win the war on crime in the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean.