Commissioner of Police Paul Morrison
With Anguilla recovering very well after Hurricane Irma, and the pace of life taking on a seemingly urgency, Governor Tim Foy OBE has outlined four personal initiatives that he thinks will assist in the continued forward movement of the island. He made known his intentions at a press conference he held in the Executive Council’s Chambers on Monday, January 14.
“I think, overall, we finished 2018 in reasonably good and far better shape than we thought we would have done in January or February. We always knew Anguilla would recover well,” he told reporters. “I think the initial spur to the economy, from the construction work, was very strongly supported by the return of tourism in the second half of the year. That was very important because it brought a lot of people work. So I think looking into 2019 – apart from praying that we don’t get a hurricane – we need to make sure that the growth in the economy continues. There are important things which Government will be looking to do in terms of development in the banking sector and ANGLEC. Continued spending of the UK grant is going to be a big priority for us, and we certainly accelerated that work very well.”
Governor Foy continued: “I think, above all, my two big things for 2019 will be working with the Deputy Governor [Mr. Perin Bradley] on improvements to the quality of the public service in Anguilla; and secondly working closely with the Commissioner of Police [Mr. Paul Morrison] addressing every issue of concern to people – especially gun crime and gang-related violence which have no place in Anguilla but, unfortunately, seem to have taken hold.
“A lot of good work is being done but what we don’t want to be doing is saying to people in Anguilla that you are better off today than two, three or four years ago, although the situation is better here than elsewhere. That’s the wrong matrix. Together, we – the Police, the Governor’s Office, the Government and the people – need to be working to make Anguilla the safest we can make it. We saw five gun-related deaths last year, and we started off this year [with one] just last Thursday [January 10]…Whatever one thinks, this was a young man shot down at the age of 22 in a public place – and that can’t be the hallmark of a civilized society. The Commissioner of Police and myself are pledging ourselves to address those issues.
“Those are my priorities for 2019 – carrying on the good work in terms of working with Government on economic recovery which is vital; looking at the public service, how we can make it better and more efficient and genuinely a service that serves the public; dealing with issues of criminality; and the forth one, I suppose, just to add another – is to make sure that, in terms of the Governor’s responsibilities for actions, that we are well prepared as we can be as we go towards an election which, of course, may come earlier, but is scheduled for April 2020.”
Returning briefly to the UK grant of 60 million pounds, the Governor disclosed that, hopefully, “the better part of 100 million EC dollars will be spent on a number of additional projects this year.” The expenditure includes schools, health facilities and the new passenger terminal at Blowing Point.
Governor Foy was accompanied at the press conference by Commissioner of Police, Mr. Paul Morrison, as well as senior members of his staff. He took the opportunity to announce that Mr. Morrison’s initial three-year contract had been extended by a further two years.
“I just want to say that I have full confidence in the Commissioner and all ranks of the Royal Anguilla Police Force,” the Governor told the reporters. I am conscious that the first duty of any Government is to protect its people. In Anguilla, the Police are absolutely the forefront of that, and what we have seen has been a Police Force which is developing towards its primary goal which is to protect the public – not just by detecting crime but by preventing crime. There is a tremendous amount of effort in interdicting and stopping things from happening. One of the things the Commissioner often says to me, and it is a quote from a Metropolitan Police Commissioner, is that ‘it takes a lot of effort to make a lot happen’ so understanding the way the community works, and working with the community, is important.
“I am delighted that we got the Commissioner to stay, and he knows that I will be on his back throughout to make sure that the investment which has been put in continues to happen over the years to come; and that we have the best Police Force that we can possibly have.”
Meanwhile, Commissioner Morrison spoke to some extent, on his staff, of the development plans for the Force and community policing, and answered questions on various matters of crime in Anguilla and other issues of public concern. These, together with matters arising from the Commissioner’s separate press conference on Wednesday, January 16, are reported elsewhere in this edition of The Anguillian newspaper.
