Anguilla’s Commissioner of Police, Rudolph Proctor, got the opportunity he wanted to speak to the business community about crime, and to solicit its support, when he accepted an offer to address the Anguilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday, June 4. He spoke with such fervour, passion and detail that at the end of his comprehensive discourse he was given a standing ovation.
Mr. Proctor, now in his third year of a five-year contract as Police Commissioner, outlined some of the areas in which the business community could assist the Force in its battle with crime. He prefaced his address by referring to a secure website, being funded by a family, which is of much assistance to the Police in receiving and investigating intelligence reports about crime and violence on the island.
He reported that crimes of greatest concern to Anguilla were murder, armed robberies and other acts of violence. “But those are not the only crimes that are happening here,” he pointed out. “The main crimes affecting Anguilla arecentered on burglaries, thefts and robberies. These crimes continue to affect the lives of families, businesses, the government and the public and private sectors on a whole.” He noted that between the weekend and that day (Tuesday), there were six or seven burglaries on private homes.
“If something isn’t done to engage the youth at this time, we are going to see a lot of these burglaries and thefts,” he warned. “These are crimes of opportunity…and there are people who are going into houses and stealing food items. That tells a story. They are going to come at businesses where they can get money and in some instances food.”
The Commissioner regretted that there was a trend in Anguilla where although citizens and small businesses were impacted by crime, some of those robbed failed to report to the Police. “We have to deal with those small and social issues in our community that are influencing our children and leading them in the paths of crime. We need to come together on this,” he stated.
Mr. Proctor said that despite the attitude of some persons to withhold information, in 2012 the Police were able to arrest and charge five persons with respect to four of five murders. He stressed that other arrests could have been made in the case of the fifth murder if persons known to have had the information had come forward. He thought the Police deserved to be complimented but said no praise had been received for arresting the persons concerned as well as those who committed other crimes. He was happy that despite the criticism, the Police had been able to take a number of criminals off the street, resulting in a relative period of calm on the island.
The Commissioner said the Force lacked proper resources to deal with crime and that, as a result of the economic situation, his budget was cut at a time when crime was increasing. He noted, however, that the Police had nonetheless managed to keep crime under control. “I can say this,” he continued. “Twice every year I sit in a forum with my counterparts in the region, and a lot of them envy this position we have in terms of crime because their murder rates are to the roof. When I was approached last year, when we had five homicides in this jurisdiction, four of which we solved, and people were running haywire and panicking, the Police Force was strategizing how we are going to take out the people involved and have them brought to justice.” He said that without bringing in investigators from outside, as the critics suggested, the Anguilla Police, which lacked the necessary resources, were able to make great progress in finding the accused persons.
Mr. Proctor was pleased that the Police now had equipment, provided through the Governor’s Office, which is of great assistance in tracking down criminals. “It is an automated fingerprint system,” he reported. “We can go to crime scenes and extract fingerprints and put them on this machine. Checking alongside our database, it can tell us whether a person is connected to a crime or not and we are seeing results from using it. That’s what I have been asking for to assist Anguillians and the Royal Anguilla Police Force in pursuing criminal activity on this island.”
The Police Commissioner intimated that the business community in Anguilla could follow the example of persons elsewhere in supplying the Police with resources to fight crime. These may include vehicles and tracker dogs. “You can do it here,” he said. “We have had business persons who have donated vehicles to the Police Force one of which we are still using. That is quite some time now and that vehicle needs to be upgraded. All the vehicles we have, and are trying to replace, are well over five years – some probably ten or more – so there are contributions that can be made along that line to the Police Force.
“Your contributions could be anonymous, if you want to do that. As I mentioned earlier, there is a family who have been supporting the Police for years through their money, service and maintenance of an anonymous crime-reporting system. There are others who are focusing on some small projects as well.”
Mr. Proctor was confident that the Anguilla Police were doing a good job in policing the island and bringing criminals to justice with or without the assistance of the public, but thought that the business community was in a position to assist. “I am comfortable with the position that we are in as a Police Force in dealing with criminal activities,” he stated. “We have taken some very dangerous criminals off the streets of Anguilla. Right now, you can see that there is a relative calm in this island. That’s because a number of those criminals are behind bars. Some got the message that we were focusing on them and they left.
“I also want to say to you, that although I spoke about those crimes you can see – such as murders, other violent crime, robberies, armed robberies and serious assaults – there is a pattern of criminal activity that you don’t hear anything about. You don’t hear anything about prostitution, or illegal gambling. But we have Anguillians who participate in, and support, some of these illegal acts against the laws of Anguilla, but nothing is reported to the Police. If you continue to be supportive in those areas, I warm that organised criminal circuits are going to infiltrate and takeover our communities. So, as business persons, you have to be on the lookout for who may want to come in and partner with you to establish these crimes which are not reported and which, because of the support from some of our citizens, can be very damaging to Anguilla.
“The Police Force is prepared to come together with those who genuinely want to contribute to dealing with these activities.”
Mr. Proctor’s address was well received by the business persons who rose from their seats indicating their support for the Police, and gratitude to its Commissioner for enlightening the Chamber on the work and accomplishments of the Royal Anguilla Police Force.
