#Providenciales, October 4, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – I literally cringe as I read my WhatsApp messages, followed by newspaper articles week after week detailing the tragic deaths of young men on the islands of Grand Turk and Provo. 

One must wonder, when will these senseless killings stop? As you know, bad news travels very fast, in most cases it’s embellished but partly true; wishing the stories were fibs. Living abroad for over 30 plus years, with the majority of my career spent in private and corporate investigations, I’m certainly not a novice to such crime trends.

Nevertheless, it’s disheartening to hear how the crime spree is tarnishing these beautiful by nature islands. By definition, I am not a criminologist, however, I have quite an extensive background and education in this particular arena. Therefore, why not share my expertise as crime is everyone’s business. I said that to say this. If we want to get serious about controlling crime, we must focus on the root causes, prevention, punishment and rehabilitation. All four of these areas are interdependent of each other. 

Root Causes: your preaching to the choir, as we all know how most of the weapons are getting into the country. The recent search and seizure of the boat that ran aground off great Sand Cay, where a cash of ammunition and guns were confiscated is quite evident. We have wide open borders and many deserted Cays to stash weapons for easy filtration into the mainland. The country has a coastal RADAR tracking station in South Dock, Providenciales, but is one unit enough? Is it strategically placed for maximum detection and interceptions? Even if the radar station in Provo picks up a signal near Grand Turk or great Sand Cay, do we have the available resources to respond and engage quickly? The Marine Police in Grand Turk do not have a working vessel. How will they respond I beg the differ. Proper detection mechanism for weapons and or drugs are also not in place to deal with the level of supplies that arrive on these cargo ships. So, it’s like catch me if you can. Do we have a trained harbor master in Grand Turk?

While on the beach, I have personally had yacht captains come ashore on their dingy and walked up to me asking directions to Customs and immigration departments. Who is conducting proper searches on their boats? This is not war time for the Britt’s. Why aren’t we putting the necessary pressure on them to provide us with one of their decommissioned Navy vessels to patrol our waters as frequently as the US Coast Guard does? We can’t depend solely on the US or the Bahamas Royal Navy, they have their own problems and limited resources. 

Prevention: Quoting the old cliché, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A little precaution before a crisis occurs is preferable to a lot of fixing up afterward. I’m excited to see we now have a native in top level management in the law enforcement department who better understands the culture of our youth and is in position to make collective decisions. Not to take away anything from the great progress we’ve made with putting a dent in crime, but we must do more as it seems we are being more reactive then proactive? It must start with building relationships and trust within communities and introducing new neighborhood watch programs. This will help to stop nuisance crimes and provide the needed intelligence to address serious crimes. 

I believe the most significant contribution to short and long term crime reduction, besides a good education, will come from the early identification of young people at risk of offending behavior, and implementing sound programs to help them make better life choices – choices that will benefit them, their families and their communities at large. This is where more help is needed from our Civic leaders.  Having an anti-gang strategy and targeting gang activity directly would assist in this push to reduce crime. I have seen the devastating blow uncontrolled gang activity can have on a community to include innocent bystanders. Safety and security are not just a policing issue, the whole of government has a role to play, along with communities themselves contributing and bridging that gap. Our police officers have never dealt with this level of gang related violence to no fault of their own. Why aren’t we requesting assistance from countries like the US, who have long been plagued with these kinds of behaviors and have trained experts in this area? 

Punishment: I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, there is no silver bullet to solving these complex issues but our leaders and law enforcement must and I repeat “MUST” continue to explore endless measures to see what are the most effective ways to get to the core of crime reduction. Crime and punishment go hand in hand, which should include taking a closer look into our prison system. Our we creating a Ritz Carlton service for prisoners or an inconvenience? They are labeled prisoners for a reason. I have had the opportunity to visit our prison system on numerous occasions and although we have improved in some areas in terms of tighter security, what I saw was repugnant.

Prisoners wearing the most expensive sneakers, clothing of the latest style, having groceries delivered that can fill a small convenience store, families bringing in cooked meals etc. Is this prison to you? I’m an advocate for human rights, but we must reevaluate the true purpose of the prison system and its intended purpose. It was not designed for luxury but as a punishment for crimes committed. 

Here is some food for thought.

1. Why are the prisoners not wearing uniforms? During my visits, most times you cannot differentiate the prisoners from the visitors.

2. Why are we allowing cooked food and groceries to be brought in?

3. The prison should have their own commissary which is a more controlled environment and reduces the opportunity for entry of drugs, phones and makeshift weapons.

4. Chain gang, what happened to those days? While growing up in Grand Turk, low risk prisoners were required to clean the streets, why not return to those bygone days. Back then, it was a shame to be seen in prison clothes on the street.

5. Why are repeat offenders being released within 30 to 60 days?

6. What background check if any, is being done on deportees back to this country?  

Rehabilitation: A holistic approach to crime control is what’s needed. Inclusive of the role Mental health counseling and anger management classes can have. All are areas needing attention in this developing country. Mental health has been a taboo for far too long and can no longer be ignored and if left untreated, it could have wide reaching impact such as what we are seeing today in relation to the recidivism rate and growing violent crimes among teens. If you look at the profile of the individuals committing crimes in our communities, they are primary older teens or young adults.

In my opinion, they are not inherently bad kids, just are impressionable, conflicted young people wrestling with emotions and impulses. Unless a heinous crime is committed, locking them away in the prison population is not the answer. An adequate facility with psychological treatment and trained counselors is what’s needed. Let’s face it, technically we do not have life sentences in the Turks and Caicos. Therefore, at some point these prisoners will eventually be released into society.

Now what? They’re still grappling with the same mental problems. The threat of longer prison sentences, no matter how severe, will not deter anyone who believes their crimes will not be detected and they can get away with it. It will also not deter those who are too overcome by emotion or disordered thinking or to care about the consequences of their behavior.

We are dealing with a different type of criminal today, most with low self-esteem, hostility, pleasure- or thrill-seekers and lack of empathy. Let’s invest in our youth now.Here are some of our short- and long-term needs.  A. Stronger community policing focusing on one community at a time.

B. Trade schools for our youth, geared specifically toward curriculum that drives economic development.

C. Summer programs for our youth and at-risk children.

D. Law enforcement need Seg-ways not SUV’s for our road patrol, particularly in smaller communities.

E. We need to do a better job with promoting the existing crime stoppers program with focus on confidentiality and incentives.

F. Government needs to provide all branches of law enforcement the needed resources to prevent and help fight crime. 

In conclusion, there were many newspaper articles written on crime and recommended solutions. However, the reality is, Britain now controls our purse string. So, our local representatives must do a better job at prioritizing and communicating what can be done within their limited budget and scope of powers. This will soften the blow on unfulfilled promises.

Sometimes it’s not just the major projects, it could be simple projects that can make a huge difference. For example, street lighting in select areas that are dimly lit to help deter crime. These projects may not require an absorbent amount of allocated funds but can have an impressionable impact on ordinary citizens and keep hope alive for our nation.

Ed Forbes – Concerned citizen in GT