Crime
National Security Council of TCI Reports; research now started on root cause of crime
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, August 21, 2022 – The National Security Council (NSC) is considering new ways to help curb crime and violence in the Turks and Caicos Islands after a crime ridden eight months.
A new National Security Advisory group is in the works for the TCI and the NSC is finalizing membership but along with this group the NCS is also looking at making progress on the “informal settlements intervention initiative“ which is in the community engagement phase.
This phase will help the government to get demographic data about these settlements.
Premier Washington Misick had announced earlier this year that a powerful new task force able to act in conjunction with the police would be set up to deal with them as well.
“Under the oversight of the National Security Council (NSC), this team of experts will work with public and private sector stakeholders on a multi-year project to tackle this long-standing issue. This task force will tackle not only the obvious physical infractions but also the social problems that are associated with living in these communities of
informal settlements,” he had said.
In addition to those updates the NSC is considering “potential practical solutions” to help reduce crime including offering cash rewards for information and revising public communications on crime.
Earlier this year, during a spate of violent crimes residents in the Turks and Caicos complained of being left out of the loop as the police communication with locals and the Media was poor.
The NCS also wants to improve CCTV camera coverage and explore amendments to the liquor licensing ordinance to include provisions to enhance public safety.
Over the past seven months there have been repeated incidents of public shootings including one at a bank and another at a gym both in broad daylight and more recently a shooting at a plaza and a drive-by involving two cars both at night.
Enhanced CCTV capabilities, especially along roadways and in public areas would be a definite boost to the country’s crime fighting arsenal.
Finally, the NCS reported that it is working along with the National Security Secretariat on a whole government and sustainable communities initiative research project which will seek to understand the root causes of crime and develop a voluntary code of conduct for private security firms.
This code of conduct was broached earlier this year but faced criticism and was stalled when security firms demanded deeper collaboration.
These latest recommendations at the NSC level come after a year plagued with reckless and often unprovoked violence against residents, homeowners and even tourists.
No timeline has been given for when these projects are expected to get underway.
Garfield Ekon
Staff Writer
USA, September 21, 2024 – Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been charged with serious sex offenses from a 14-page indictment, accusing him of racketeering, sex trafficking by force and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Mr. Combs, 54, was arrested on Monday evening, with allegations of running a criminal enterprise from at least 2008 that relied on drugs and violence to force women to “fulfill his sexual desires”, according to prosecutors. A New York federal judge remanded the musician in custody on Tuesday after prosecutors argued he was a “serious flight risk”.
If convicted on all three counts, the rapper and record producer faces a sentence of 15 years up to life in prison. Asked by US Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky how he wished to plead, Mr. Combs stood up and said: “not guilty”.
According to court documents, Mr. Combs “wielded the power” of his status to “lure female victims, to engage in extended sex acts” called “Freak Offs”. During Freak Offs, Combs distributed a variety of controlled substances to victims, in part to keep the victims “obedient and compliant,” the indictment said.
In a news briefing, US prosecutor Damian Williams said officials found firearms, ammunition and more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant during raids on Mr. Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles, about six months ago. Mr. Williams said federal agents also found three semi-automatic rifles with defaced serial numbers, and a drum magazine.
He told reporters that further charges were possible, without offering details.
Mr. Agnifilo, the musician’s lawyer, maintained, “there’s no coercion and no crime.”
“He’s not afraid of the charges,” he said, adding that he believed Mr. Combs was the target of “an unjust prosecution”.
In court documents, federal prosecutors said that Mr. Combs had “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct”.
Prosecutors accuse Mr. Combs of “creating a criminal enterprise” whose members – under his direction – engaged in sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson and bribery.
“On numerous occasions”, the documents said, Mr. Combs assaulted women by “striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at, and kicking them”.
The indictment did not specify how many women were alleged victims.
It also does not accuse Mr. Combs himself of engaging directly in unwanted sexual acts with women.
Last November, his ex-girlfriend, singer Casandra Elizabeth Ventura, filed a civil lawsuit against him that included graphic descriptions of violent abuse.
Sean “Diddy” Combs denied the accusations, but settled the case a day after it was filed.
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