Anguilla’s Chief Minister, Osbourne Fleming, says he is outraged and incensed by the wave of criminal activities taking place on the island and warns that Government is formulating a strategy to deal with the situation.

Chief Minister, Osbourne Fleming

Mr. Fleming did not say what the strategy is, but remarked that it included both manpower and financial resources to facilitate its implementation.

The Chief Minister was speaking in a radio broadcast on Wednesday evening. He continued as follows: “The latest criminal activities serve to remind us that there are those in our midst intent on destroying our society for their own sinister and cowardly purposes. They will not succeed. As an immediate priority, we have to prevent our society from succumbing to a growing sense of powerlessness against the criminal elements. Our society cannot be allowed to decay further. All of us must play our part in ensuring that the culture of Anguilla is one that promotes the principle that human-life is truly invaluable and irreplaceable.

“While the present upsurge demands immediate measures, a new approach is required. This must include more than the Royal Anguilla Police Force and the Criminal Justice System. It must also entail drastic changes in the way we raise our children, more stringent controls in the immigration system, provision of opportunities for the disenfranchised and a sense of humanity and respect for life among our younger generation.

“It is no accident that the government has committed itself to focusing on the social sector as a means of securing the positive achievements in our economy. Crime affects us all. It threatens our personal security; it severely affects the investment climate; it impacts negatively on our tourism industry and all our efforts at economic stabilization and development will come to nothing.

“The increase in crime and violence is contrary to government’s stated goal of creating a safer, more caring and gentler society. In our movement forward, I am asking the people of Anguilla not to forget the values that have brought Anguilla to where it is today. These include respect for each other, hard work, honesty and the importance of living within our means. Peace and tranquility have been the foundation for our development. It is imperative that we do not erode this foundation otherwise all we have built can be destroyed.

“I call upon every person with an interest in Anguilla, living within, as well as without, to be active citizens, not spectators. Let us work together to further improve our communities and protect our lives. The time is now for us to focus all our energies on the real issues affecting us. I pray God’s continued blessings upon us and may He give us the wisdom to carry on in 2006 as together we aspire to build our lives and our nation with vigour.”

Mr. Fleming offered his sympathy to family members of Dwayne Connor, who lost his life, and all who experienced incidents of violence on the otherwise peaceful shores of Anguilla including Sheldon Brooks who was injured in the shooting and the two visitors who were shot and wounded in another incident.

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