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TCI: Fulford renews call for his threefold solutions to stem crime to be implemented

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#Providenciales, August 18, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – Another Sunday, another week gone by riddled with crime, from two broad daylight robberies of business establishments, to a bloody ATM shooting, to two stolen cars, to robbing a lone woman on Bible Street, (for Christ’s sake), to shooting  a good Samaritan who was giving a ride to a hacker, to a man being shot in the head-stiched up and put on a flight, to an all out rain of bullets like at a man sitting in a car in the parking lot of the infamous Five Dollar Bar.

In a week where new  Leadership takes the helm of the Police Force, (itself plagued by internal problems, to which one hopes Botting has ears to listen and the head to change from within), we would expect new blood would signal a new approach to policing from Tuesday 13th August 2019 the day after elected officials from Government and  Opposition were seen grinning and posing up with the new executives of the Police Force.

The perpetrators who committed these heinous acts from Tuesday 13th to Saturday 17th August did not take a single day off. They wreaked havoc on our society; displacing and disturbing any sense of the calm, peaceful place we all knew. We want our police to exhibit publicly a similar ferocity as the criminals towards hunting down and bringing these perpetrators to justice!

In 2017, I called on the then newly installed Governor Freeman and Commissioner Smith to implement the Fulford Threefold Solutions to stem crime. Neither of them heeded my call. Now, two years on, crime seems to be metastasizing its way into the everyday  fabric of our society. It seems as if the then Top Cop tried everything but the Fulford Threefold Solutions. I am calling on this new leadership of the RTCIP to try a new approach to crime. There are many solutions that I will like to see implemented, however the top three solutions that can be implemented now to stem crime involves, firstly a confidential Informants program, secondly, organized and routine sting operations, and thirdly, daily Traffic stop, search and seizures.

1. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANTS:

a. Allocate half million dollars for the immediate implementation of a secure confidential informant program to allow the CI to provide useful and credible information to a Police Officer (CID) regarding criminal activities; 

b. In exchange for that information once proven to be credible the CI would be paid”.

c. CID paid Informants in and from the communities of The Bight, Blue Hills, Cheshire Hall, Leeward and Five Cays, would open a line of effective communication. Cultivating informants in these areas could lead to many arrests and may lead to solving “cold cases”. 

Some people may think this is “snitching”. I reject that. Instead, introducing informants could reignite a community spirit and also drive the fear back into the criminals, which is desperately needed right now. Informants can help reduce crime by putting criminals in jail through gathering intelligence that may distil new patterns that some law enforcement officers find hard to ascertain. But an informant – particularly one that may have once engaged in criminal conduct – will always know what is going on in the streets of the community. This knowledge base and strategy develops into critical case models and Countries all over the world turn to CI implementation, when crime is ‘out of hand’. Now, maybe it is our turn to explore this option.

2. STING OPERATIONS

Commissioner, may also want to consider setting up various sting operations throughout the islands of Provo and Grand Turk. Here is why: We know of the constant attacks of persons at the ATM Machines, so have CID officers dressed in plain clothes and use the ATMs at weird times in order to bait these brazen criminals to attack. The same can be done using fake tourist to walk the streets of Grace Bay. Here is what I would tell the head of the police: Commissioner you must put the fear back into these criminals and one way you can do so is to strike back through sting operations throughout Provo & Grand Turk.

3. TRAFFIC STOP, SEARCH AND SEIZURES

Implement a 24 hour around the clock random stop and search at every round about. Perpetrators are riding around with guns without any fear of being caught. Do this for the entire remainder of the year, and see the fruits that will be yielded from your labour. I am certain this Government would have no objection to paying these officers overtime for us all to feel safe again, and implementing these three measures is a good start that don’t require nothing more than a signature to get done.

TWO FINAL POINTS: 

Certainly we have excellent committed Officers who serve proudly. But we must now admit that evidence of force corruption or criminals being tipped off by police officers has become too frequent to ignore.  This puts other Officers lives in danger and undermines police work. Second, these measures must become permanent as part of a ‘zero tolerance’ attitude to crime. However, there is one species of crime that is the most dangerous for us, and that is where criminals from surrounding countries come for a few days and run wild in our country, wrecking its reputation. The key thing here Mr. Commissioner is there must be persons and even Turks and Caicos Islanders – who have forgotten their duties as citizens – who are facilitating these people. You must develop a strategy to deal with this, such as shared bail lists with neighbouring Countries.I know we cannot have the TCI we had 30 years ago. But there is no reason why we cannot reduce crime to the lowest per capita in the world! If we fail in this crime challenge we will end up with the TCI we deserve, but in which we will not and cannot survive.

By: Mark A Fulford

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Climate Change

Without Action, TCI could lose landmass to Rising Ocean

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Dana Malcolm 
Staff Writer 

We are living in the hottest times ever recorded by mankind, according to new data shared by Copernicus Climate Change Service, (C3S). It’s not just a warmer season, climate records continue to topple like dominoes in a concerning and for many, frightening trend that could have consequences for the Turks and Caicos.

“March 2024 was warmer globally than any previous March in the data record, with an average surface air temperature 10°C above the previous high set in March 2016. This is the tenth month in a row that is the warmest on record for the respective month of the year” the C3S revealed.

To some, that might mean getting a new fan, having AC installed, or spending some extra days at the beach. But in some of the coldest places on earth sheets of ice are melting, contributing to sea level rise, and affecting the Caribbean.

Countries below sea level are most at risk, at the forefront of those calculations is the Turks and Caicos. A November 2023 report cited the TCI, Bahamas, Jamaica, and Cayman,  as facing sea level rise by the end of the century. In that report, the UNDP estimates that without shoreline defenses more than 5 percent of the Turks and Caicos Islands will disappear completely below the ocean. This is the prognosis for The Bahamas, BVI, and Cayman as well.

“The displacement of millions of people and the disruption of economic activity in major business hubs could introduce new elements of instability and increase competition for resources,” the UNDP warned.

The continued temperature records aren’t helping.

“Antarctic sea ice extent was 20% below average, the sixth lowest extent for March in the satellite data record,” the Copernicus Service explains, though in some areas there was more ice than we have seen for several years, it’s not enough to stave off the continued melting.

NASA explains that because floating ice is made of fresh water, it increases sea level slightly when it melts into the salty sea, but its melting ice on land like glaciers that fall into the ocean, and the expansion of seawater as it warms, contribute most to sea level rise.

For coastal countries, this means land loss and for islands, it is a major concern. Already global sea level has risen about 8 inches (0.2 meters) since reliable record-keeping began in 1880 according to NASA . In a 2024 report the space agency said by 2100, scientists project that the sea will rise at least another foot (0.3 meters), but possibly as high as 6.6 feet (2 meters)

When Magnetic Media used the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sea Level Rise Simulator it didn’t show what would happen to the Turks and Caicos or the Bahamas, but it did have data on Florida which lies just an hour off the coast of Freeport, Bahamas. With only 1 foot of water rise, areas like Key West were completely covered.

The UNDP however,  says there is hope and urges countries to treat the prediction as a call to action rather than an inevitability, as shoreline defences and climate action have the potential to prevent these changes.

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Sandals Foundation and Partners Install and Commission 750 Gallon Ultra-filtration Water Tank at Enid Capron Primary School

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MEDIA RELEASE

 

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks & Caicos Islands, April 17, 2024 – “Thousands have lived without love, but no one has ever lived without water,” according to poet, W. H. Auden. More than 500 students and teachers at the Enid Capron Primary School in Providenciales stand to benefit from a 750 gallons filtration water tank system valued at almost US$15,000 courtesy of the Sandals Foundation, Beaches Turks and Caicos and SIP Water, distributers of ICON LifeSaver®. The system that was recently installed will be able to use harvested rain water along with its ultra-filtered system to provide potable water.

This project had SIP Water, which is the Caribbean Distributors for ICON LifeSaver®, install and commission the system which was handed over to the administrators of the Sandals Foundation adopted school. ICON LifeSaver® is a British company providing some of the safest, potable water purification solutions in the world through supporting organisations.

Paul Girling, Director of SIP Water says, “This system is able to change untreated, contaminated water into ultra-pure, micro-biologically clean drinking water.  Its multi-filtration system removes all micro plastics, bacteria, protozoan cysts and viruses to a minimum level of 99.99% without the need for any electricity or chemicals”.

Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Social Services and Member of Parliament for the Five Cays area, Hon. Rachel Taylor was present as the system was commissioned. “This is a landmark achievement for the school and the community of Five Cays. This location is an emergency shelter and with the Atlantic Hurricane season not far away, having this in place will serve our students well and by extension, the community. We are grateful for the continued partnership with Sandals Foundation and Beaches Turks and Caicos in giving back to the Turks and Caicos Islands,” Taylor shared.

Beaches Turks and Caicos Managing Director, James McAnally shared, “this project is a giant step towards ensuring the basic necessities in our community are safe and sustainable.  We continue to grow and look at new ways to serve in the areas of education, the community and the environment. This tank will go a long way in helping to improve the quality of life of the children and faculty in the Five Cays community especially during times of disaster.”

Principal at Enid Capron Primary School, Sophia Garland elatedly shared, “our students’ health will be improved as they consume more water daily. This system will provide for us a level of sustainability throughout the school and the community. As an educational institution, we continue to celebrate partnerships with corporate entities that seek to support key infrastructural needs of the students, staff and wider community.”

The ICON LifeSaver® product is environmentally friendly. As a leader in sustainability, this will help in the reduction of plastic bottles. The filters are reusable and typically have a 1-2 year span. This is a patented ultra-filtration technology which is independently tested to the highest portable water standards.

 

Captions:

Header: Paul Girling (left), director of SIP Water, Sophia Garland (2nd left), principal of the Enid Capron Primary school, Hon. Rachel Taylor, Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Social Services, and Joe Lovegrove, Operations and Technical Director of LifeSaver gave thumbs up sign to the completion of the project.

1st insert: Joe Lovegrove, Operations and Technical Director for LifeSaver takes his time to insert one of the six filters that the filtration system that was recently installed and commissioned at the Enid Capron Primary School.

2nd insert: Enid Capron Primary School teachers share a moment with the ICON team following the successful completion of the installation of the water filtration system with Paul Girling (left) director of SIP Water and Joe Lovegrove Operations and  Technical Director for LifeSaver.

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TCI News

Nurturing Young talent: Experience Turks and Caicos welcomes new additions to the team

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Experience Turks and Caicos is fostering an environment where young talent can thrive and excel, and the recent additions to the organisation serve as a testament to that commitment.

Experience Turks and Caicos is pleased to welcome Miss Rothesia Williams and Miss Kristan Lightbourne to the Finance Department as well as Miss Oshin Whyte, who has been assigned a temporary role as Tourism Statistics Officer.

Miss Williams joined the team as an Accounts Clerk effective April 2nd, 2024 while Miss Lightbourne will take up the position of Finance Accountant effective April 15th, 2024.
In her role, Miss Williams will support the Finance Accountant in updating financial records, generating financial reports, reconciling bank statements and processing financial transactions. Miss Williams is a graduate of the Turks and Caicos Islands Community College with an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration and previously worked at the Waterloo Hotel Management Ltd, where she held the roles of Accounting Clerk and Senior Accounts Payable Clerk.

As Financial Accountant, Miss Lightbourne will prepare statements and reports and advise on financial strategy.

Miss Lightbourne previously worked as an accountant at The Shore Club where she oversaw and provided strategic guidance to various sectors within the finance department, including Cost Control, Audit, Accounts Payable, Cash Management, and Payroll and implemented and reviewed internal financial policies and controls to ensure compliance and efficiency among other duties. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Management from the Turks and Caicos Community College and is currently pursuing her Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) certification in the United Kingdom.

 

Miss Whyte will be working temporarily with the team as Tourism Statistics Specialist effective April 3rd, 2024.She will be responsible for collecting and analysing data relevant to the tourism industry that would enable Experience Turks and Caicos to develop informed strategies to enhance the tourism sector.

Miss Whyte previously held the position of Interim Environmental Policy Coordinator with the Ministry of Tourism where she collaborated with the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources to ensure the timely delivery of the key objectives of the Sustainable Livelihood Program. She is a graduate of Oxford Brookes University with a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Sciences and the University of Kent with a Masters by Research (Hons) in Human Geography
In welcoming the young women to Experience Turks and Caicos, Co-Chair of Experience Turks and Caicos Mr. Alvin Hegner said the future of the tourism industry centres around the youth.

“As we forge ahead in fortifying and expanding our organisation, the stewardship of adept individuals becomes paramount. Given the Turks and Caicos Islands’ singular reliance on tourism, we must foster sustainability by nurturing our youth, empowering them to evolve into the torchbearers of tomorrow who will carry forward the legacy of our current endeavours. I am genuinely enthused to extend a warm welcome to these young women as they join our ranks, eagerly anticipating the remarkable contributions they will undoubtedly make,” he said.
Miss. Williams and Miss Lightbourne will report to the Chief Financial and Operations Officer, Ms. Rufina Augustin while Miss Whyte will report to the Chief Marketing Officer, Ms. Trina Adams.

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