| Police reinforcements forthcoming | | Print | |
| Thursday, 14 January 2010 22:24 | |||
 Crime has been an increasingly important concern in the country, one for which the governor says he has solutions in the pipeline.
“I think now that the consolidated loan is in prospect, I hope we will be in a better position to do more things we have been intending to do for a couple of months,” said Gov. Gordon Wetherell. The items on the list of intended things to do include increasing the number of police officers, updating infrastructure and potentially creating partnerships with other countries with expertise in the region who could loan help to the local force. “We have lots of work to do to make sure the infrastructure of the police is in better shape. A fair amount has been done to beef up cooperation between police and local communities,” which the governor says has been successful. Currently the police force is short about 30 officers, but reinforcements are on the way. “Recruitments have begun, and we are expecting four officers from the U.K. before the next fiscal year begins in March,” said Police Commissioner Edward C. Hall. The new officers, which are on contract loan from the U.K., will be assisting with crime investigation, analysis and community policing. The citizen patrols, which they will be launching at the end of the month, as well as other operational changes are expected to deliver positive results. In addition, Wetherell noted on his trip to the U.K. in December that he met with the Canadian high commissioner with whom he discussed the possibility of sharing police force resources. Canadian police have been helping several other nations in the Caribbean in similar situations, and Wetherell said their expertise may be well utilized in the TCI. Crime has increased over the past year, which Hall partially attributes to the economic climate of the country. In 2007 and 2008, crime decreased, which was an obvious time of growth, Hall explained. In 2009, we experienced an economic downturn, and Hall suggests there is most likely a correlation between the two. The phenomenon is not just happening in the Turks and Caicos. “We are not unique in this situation. There has been a surge in crime across the region and we are no exception.” At the beginning of next week, the crime statistics for 2009 will be released. Given what we currently know, it will be significantly lower than in other Caribbean countries. For example, police in Jamaica — the Caribbean nation with the highest murder rate — say the island had about 1,660 homicides in 2009, close to the record of 1,674 set in 2005. Another highlight expected soon is the opening of the new police substation in the Lower Bight in the Salt Mills Plaza in Grace Bay. On the ground police presence is hoped to deter crime in the high tourism district. This is all welcome news on the heels of several extreme cases of crime. Most recently the robbery inside the airport terminal at the duty free Jai’s jewelry location. According to police reports, on Monday, Jan. 11, at about 4:45 a.m., local police responded to a report of an aggravated burglary at the high-end jewelry store in the departure lounge of the Providenciales International Airport, where the three security officers on duty were tied up by three mask men armed with guns. The burglars then proceeded to break into the jewelry store and steal a quantity of jewelry. The Airport Authority, while disappointed by the incident, was pleased that the incident was caught on security cameras, and the video footage was immediately turned over to police. Wetherell said he is conscious of the situation and assures that addressing the increase in crime is a top priority.
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