Providenciales, 29 Sept 2015 – The Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Dr. The Hon. Rufus W. Ewing, on Monday expressed grave concern for the rising level of crime in the country, and particularly for that of serious and fatal nature. This came on receiving news of yet another gun related murder which ironically occurred after a successful weekend of activities which sought to begin the national conversation gun-related crime and focused on educating young people and adults to “break the silence and stop the violence”.
In recent months the Premier has continuously registered his dissatisfaction with the level of crime fighting and solved cases with the Commissioner of Police and the Governor, who holds responsibility for national security, and has charged them to step up their efforts to prevent, detect and solve crimes in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Last week, the Premier and his Cabinet approved funding in a supplementary budget for the establishment of a Serious Crimes Investigation Unit that would assist in the investigation and apprehension of those persons responsible for the many murder cases that remain unsolved.
In the meantime, the Premier continues to push for immediate action and during a recent meeting with the Governor, the Premier requested and received commitment from His Excellency and the Commissioner of Police for the immediate recruitment of expert investigators from the UK and the Caribbean region to provide the necessary skills that are required to solve these crimes and also transfer knowledge to local police officers.
The Premier and the Governor have also agreed to the establishment of a National Security Council which will be co-chaired by the Governor and the Premier and will consist of lead persons from the various law enforcement agencies. The role of the Security Council would be intelligence gathering and sharing and the development and coordination of crime fighting strategies.
These initiatives will complement and enhance the ongoing efforts to fight crime and illegal immigration in the islands.
On the matter of crime the Premier commented, “The senseless loss of life and especially that of young people is unsettling and vexatious and one can only imagine the pain that their families must be experiencing. I wish to express my deepest condolences to those families who have lost love ones to violence and I promise you that my Government will put the financial resources behind crime fighting and the development of intervention programs that will reduce interpersonal and gang related violence in our communities.”
