#TurksandCaicos, September 7, 2022 – The last five days has seen a deliberate disregard for the rule of law and life on Providenciales, predominantly in Five Cays but also in other communities that has left a trail of tragedy and heartache in a manner that is unacceptable in the Turks and Caicos Islands.  This heinous acts has been perpetrated by young men, men who have carried out cowardly attacks for reasons that are hard to understand and completely unacceptable.

This violence has led to the deaths of four people and a number of others who have been hospitalized with serious injuries. All of the incidents involved firearms and all of the deceased suffered gunshot injuries.

Overnight from Friday 2^nd September into the 3^rd, two persons, Keno Taylor and Assam Astwood were shot and killed and Five Cays and two others were hospitalized with gunshot injuries.

Early Sunday morning, the 4^th September, two persons were attacked, again in Five Cays and died from gunshot injuries. I am naming them as Stuart Harris and Tamia Simmons.

These attacks were targeted against specific individuals but it is clear that the gunmen were indiscriminate in the way they carried out the violent and abhorrent attacks.

In these instances, this violent criminal is driven by young men, formed into gangs, where violence spirals out of control through a cycle of retribution and revenge against groups and is further fueled by the importation and distribution of drugs and wider criminal activity. This level of criminality cannot be and won’t be tolerated and the Force will remain resolute in tackling this organized crime.

We know that the community of Five Cays is fearful, but I want to reassure you that we are doing all we can to take these criminals off the streets of the Turks and Caicos Islands and stop the cycle of shootings and death. Additional officers are being deployed into Five Cays across the 24-hour period, both to reassure the community and to track down the violent criminal elements that are blighting lives and causing misery to so many. You may not see all the policing activity that is being undertaken, but please be reassured that we are working hard for you in tackling this problem. We are also deploying all legal measures to deal with the people behind this violence, including covert policing tactics.

As always, we need your help, if you know anything, no matter how small tell us. I do acknowledge that there are concerns about giving information to Police Officers and I understand the hesitancy. However, we now have a dedicated team of trained officers who will work discreetly with people who want to provide information. They work separately from the force and will deal with your information discreetly and professionally. I will be sending out a dedicated number to contact the team but, in the meantime, please free to contact me directly and I will assist. We have made this change as we know how difficult it is to provide information so, please trust me when I tell you that your identity and what you have to say will remain confidential.

Alternatively, you can still call crime-stoppers, you won’t need to leave your name and we won’t know who called but we will get the information you provide.

In broader terms, I have spoken many times about the societal issues that sit behind serious crime. The Force is working alongside the Government and National Security Team to better understand the causes of crime and start to deal with the deeper societal and community issues as well as building the Capability and Capacity of the Force.

The Force is working with the Hon Taylor and the relevant Ministry to improve lighting within Five Cays to enhance the feel of communities in terms of safety and security.

The Force is also working in partnership with the Government and the Attorney General’s Chambers to consider legislation that will allow policing to better deal with violent criminals and increase the sentences for serious crimes when convicted.

Such enhancements support the Police in dealing with criminals and play a part in making people feel safer within their communities.

I am grateful for the financial support of the government to allow is to do this. We are recruiting a number of officers from the TCI and overseas to bolster our numbers, we are enhancing our intelligence and covert policing capability, driving forward with our plans for community policing and investing in our investigative capability, both in terms of investigators and technical support. I am also grateful to the UK Government in providing support to policing on the TCI in a number of ways to enhance our capability and capacity and more support is coming in the near future.

I wanted you, our community, to know that we are moving forward in our ability to fight crime, so again, I want to reassure you that the Officers and staff are working hard to prevent and detect crime. For example, in 2022,       of guns have been removed from the streets of the TCI and the persons in possession of those weapons have been arrested and charged. We will continue this work, overtly and covert to rid the streets of guns and stop these violent criminals from causing harm to our communities.

Knowing the level of dangerous work undertaken by my officers, I want to thank them for the work they do day and night in protecting their communities. I wish to salute their courage, persistence and determination.

As I close, if you choose to threaten a Police Officer with a firearm you are making a choice and that will have a consequence. My officers legally empowered to protect themselves and law abiding citizen’s others from armed criminality and they will do so if threatened. Let me be clear, if you threaten the life of an officer, you will face lethal force to protect themselves. Do not to make a bad decision.

To the young men involved in these crimes I say this; ‘Find another way to live your lives rather than through violence and guns. I am appealing to you directly; stop the cycle of violence, a cycle that makes you more likely to die a violent death, a cycle that will ultimately result in you spending most of your life in prison and a cycle that is causing death and lifelong grief to others. I am also appealing to those who are close to these young men, parents, siblings, friends, I am asking you to plead with them to stop the violence and take a different path before they too end up being shot and killed in the very cycle of violence they are perpetuating. No good ever comes from the life they are living.’

Finally, four people have lost their lives and our condolences, thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who have died in the recent attacks and to those who have been injured. Make no mistake, as a Force we committed to keeping our communities safe and we remain focused, steadfast and relentless in hunting down the criminals who are causing so much misery to our communities.

Thank you, and may God bless you and the beautiful by nature Turks and Caicos Islands.