It seems that Tuesday this week was the first time that the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Rudolph Proctor, and the membership of the Anguilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry, met together to look at the crime situation and its impact on the social and economic life of the island.
The event was the Chamber’s Annual General Meeting, but the invitation to Mr. Proctor to speak on crime was in no way out of step with the order of business. In fact, given the importance of protecting our fragile economy, his presentation was both timely and necessary. It was also a source of much interest and enlightenment to the business persons who must, of necessity and common sense, always ensure that they are operating in an atmosphere of stability and security in order to survive and prosper.
The standing ovation accorded to the Commissioner was obviously a genuine act of appreciation. In a passionate, professional and skilful manner he had given the Chamber much food for thought; provided for them an eye-opener into the intricacies of good policing, the growing task of crime prevention, and insights into how the membership of the Chamber, collectively or individually, can assist in various tangible ways in the fight against crime and the safeguarding of their business interests.
The Commissioner, drawing from his 30 years of experience in the Force, inclusive of his early service when there was no crime at such in Anguilla, and now when his hands are virtually filled with criminal matters, succeeded in putting across the message he long wanted to give. It is that there are now varied patterns of crime being unleashed on the community: armed burglaries, robberies and other violent acts, as well as prostitution and illegal gambling which must be contained before they overwhelm the island and seriously affect their businesses. He also spoke about the five murders committed in Anguilla in 2012 and the success of the Police in solving four of them – and almost solving the fifth one had the witnesses at the scene told the Police what they had seen and knew. He skilfully and truthfully painted a picture of the successes of the Police in removing a number of criminals off the streets and how, if the Chamber and other donors would be gracious enough to provide the Police with certain badly-needed resources, a lot more could be accomplished in controlling crime.
Much emphasis was placed during Mr. Proctor’s address on the occurrences of armed and unarmed, robberies and thefts affecting both the citizenry and the business community. Reference was also made to break-ins where intruders were seeking food – a matter which, though serious, underscores the difficult economic plight on the island. All of these acts are inexcusable, punishable and must be roundly condemned.
While on this matter, there have been some recent attacks on expatriate-owned businesses and, like those attacks on local enterprises such violent burglaries must be frowned at and every effort must be made to bring the perpetrators to justice. If there is any advice to be offered, it would be that Anguilla provides equal opportunities forevery qualified person to invest and do business in our fast-growing plural-society as far as ethnic origin is concerned. If we make critical statements about our expatriate friends – accusing them of taking over parts of the business community, as is heard so often from our political leadership, any violent attacks on them could unfortunately be attributed to those kinds of ill-advised comments. Business operators, local and foreign, can only operate in Anguilla when they are legitimateholders of Government-issued licences whether in their own names or in partnerships with Anguillians or belongers. It therefore means that the expatriate business persons referred to cannot go into business as they wish, but must be granted licences to do so.
To return to the theme of our editorial, it was a good decision for the Chamber to have invited the Commissioner of Police to speak on crime. There must be continued interaction between the Police and the business community on this embarrassing but real problem which must be confronted head-on. Not to do so would be to imperil Anguilla, the business community, its security and economic wellbeing.
