This year’s Police Week comes at a difficult time for Anguilla. Just three weeks into the New Year, we have experienced two nasty shooting incidents, one of which led to the death of a young man and the wounding of another, and the other involved a despicable and vicious attack on an elderly couple in their holiday villa, which required their medical evacuation to the United States. And now just on Friday January 20, another shooting incident in the early hours resulted in one young man being wounded. It is not surprising that people, Anguillians and expatriates alike, are concerned and worried about the society that is developing here.

We must not exaggerate the problem. Overall, crime in Anguilla is still low in both absolute and relative terms when compared with other tourist islands in the Caribbean – and attacks on tourists very few. Nearly every holiday here is trouble free. But it is true that gun crime on the island is growing – 21 incidents in 2005, fewer in 2004 and fewer still in 2003. We cannot be complacent, when our success as an attractive tourist destination rests on a reputation for being a safe, friendly island.

As Governor, I have been trying to assist the police in their efforts to tackle this new form of crime in Anguilla. By tapping into the FCO’s Good Government Fund, we have brought across two police officers from Bermuda, one of whom is their head of Special Branch, to help with the investigation of the first shooting incident – and will extend their stay for another week (at an overall cost of about Ł14,000/EC$70,000). I can announce today too that we now have authority to recruit three recently retired police officers from the UK to reinforce the RAPF task force that the Police Commissioner has set up to tackle gun crime more aggressively. This will be for six months in the first instance and will be on a cost-share basis, with the UK funding Ł67,500/EC$337,500 and GoA Ł47,500/EC$237,500 of the overall costs of Ł115,000/EC$575,00. I hope that these police officers will be on island no later than the end of February.

In 2005, with the help of the OT Law Enforcement Adviser, based in Miami, I secured nearly Ł300,000/EC$1,500,000 from GGF just for the support of the RAPF. This included the costs of seconding a regional task force, headed by a UK officer, to help the investigations particularly into the Jamida Webster murder, and related forensic work; of seconding a UK police officer on a cost-share basis with the Government of Anguilla for two years to help with CID training and the creation of a financial crime unit; of recommissioning the police boat Dolphin and the police inshore launch, Lapwing; of police training and equipment, such as the provision of protective vests; and of extending the computerised criminal intelligence system, which is up and running in Wallblake airport and Blowing Point, much more widely within Police headquarters. Early this year, we shall also see the arrival of a fully equipped scene of crime vehicle, at a cost of some Ł50,000/EC$250,000, which with associated training should enhance the RAPF’s technical capacity in solving major crime.

The Government of Anguilla is playing its part too. Ministers have agreed to find the necessary funds to increase police numbers to an establishment of 100 personnel by the end of this year. They have accepted the recommendations of the Police Salaries Review, which will rationalise police pay, de-link it from the civil service salary structure and involve some significant pay increases. Active consideration is also being given to the proposal for a Police Commission, which will advise on recruitment and promotions, discipline and secondary employment, and help to investigate complaints against the police. We have set a target date of July for work on all this to be completed, including the preparation of any necessary legislation. We also hope to expand the jury pool to assist in the administration of justice.

This week, I shall be discussing with the French and Dutch authorities what more can be done to prevent the transit of guns and other illegal contraband to Anguilla, at one of our regular tripartite meetings at policy level. We have already seen a higher level of mutual security co-operation and assistance since these meetings started. I am sure that more can be done. We have, for example, tried to improve security at our ports. We shall encourage the same on St Martin too.

So there is a lot going on behind the scenes.

But responsibility for tackling crime does not just rest with the police or Government. It is a matter for everyone. Certainly, the public has a right to expect a prompt, efficient and courteous response from police officers when they call on them for assistance – and they have a right to expect real professionalism and sustained effort within the law on the part of the police in seeking to prevent crime and bring the perpetrators to justice. But equally, the police have the right to expect assistance from members of the public when they need their help.

This means a willingness to give the police information, which may help them to bring criminals to book, and to give evidence in a court of law, if necessary. This may require courage in a small society but, unless people are prepared to stand up against the commission of crime, the spirit of lawlessness amongst these few hooligans, who commit the gun crime and bring little positive to society, will just get worse. Of course, we can demand greater confidentiality on the part of the police, if that is really the problem (and not just an excuse), but we cannot divorce ourselves from our obligations as responsible citizens.

Too often, I have heard the assertion that everyone knows who the criminals are: well, the police require evidence to bring criminals to justice – and that requires the active assistance of members of the public. Yes, the police can try to uncover evidence by more active policing methods but no-one in Anguilla should seek to evade their civic responsibility by leaving it all to the police and then blaming them for not doing enough when things go wrong. And no-one should take the law into their own hands in exacting retribution for imagined or actual slight. It is the responsibility of all in positions of influence – clergy, teachers and parents – to reinforce respect for law and order in our society.

We need also to take measures to minimise the success of crime. The days when we could leave our cars and our houses unlocked and still feel safe from petty thieves and burglars are gone. All of us need to take the sensible security precautions that the modern world imposes on us. We do so elsewhere; we must expect to do so in Anguilla. I am pleased that the Police and the AHTA are hosting a Safety & Security Seminar to discuss this later this week.
Police Week is an opportunity for the RAPF to explain its day to day work more openly to members of the public and to try to encourage a closer relationship within the community. The police need to earn greater respect for what they do. We need to give them greater support, and the requisite training and resources, to become more efficient. How society develops in Anguilla is a matter for all of us. I know that the vast majority of people here want Anguilla to remain a law abiding, peaceful island that will continue to be attractive to visitors and investors alike. Anguilla has a rightful reputation of being a quiet and friendly place. Our future economic growth depends on this. We need to work together to protect the vision.

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