Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/727/-1/135/
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Governor, Commissioner Call For Community Support
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The opportunity was taken during Police Week to call on the Anguillian community to assist in maintaining the safety and security of the various areas of the island. The call was made by Governor Peter Johnstone and the Acting Police Commissioner Keithly Benjamin in radio broadcasts.
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The Police Choir at St. Mary's Anglican Church Service
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Police Week commenced on Sunday January 26 with a divine service at St. Mary’s Anglican Church, conducted by Bishop Errol Brooks, and continued with a series of addresses and social activities.
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In the foreground Governor Peter Johnstone and Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming waiting for the Police Parade
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The Governor noted that “the better integrated police officers are into the community and the more open community members are with the police, the more likely we are to develop the cooperative spirit that is required to keep our island safe and secure.” He observed that police/community consultative committees had already been set up at Island Harbour, East End, [Valley South], and West End and shortly will be at Blowing Point (to include Cul de Sac). “These committees have a police officer dedicated to them,” he said. “This means that each village will have a single police officer who will be intimately familiar with the members of that village or community; a police officer with whom you can share your thoughts, ideas, suggestions for improving the safety and security of your area; a person to whom you can give information in confidence to help with the solving of a crime and catch the culprit.”
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Police on parade
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Governor Johnstone continued: “If the police are to succeed in their duties, your help cannot always be in secret. At some stage you may be asked to come forward and state plainly and honestly what you know or what you have seen. It is your duty, with the police, to help catch those who commit crime. It is the court’s duty to decide what to do with them.”
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Acting Commissioner Keithly Benjamin
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Meanwhile Commissioner Benjamin said the aim of the force was to focus, reiterate and give credence to the fact that community policing was a viable in combating deviant behaviour. He emphasised that the primary responsibility of the consultative committees was to find ways to improve the quality of life in the various neighbourhoods.
“While this may well be a consequence of the committees’ efforts, they are not a group of police officers charged with the task of detecting criminal activity,” he pointed out. “In fact the role of the consultative committees is primarily to work in partnership with the police to devise possible solutions to curb deviant behaviour which could ultimately lead to a reduction of crime…”
Mr. Benjamin noted that in some communities there had been a marked reduction in incidents. “We urge those communities that do not have a functioning consultative committee not to under-estimate their contribution and to participate in a partnership that can restore lost pride in their community,” he added.