A promise has been made by His Excellency the Acting Governor, Paul Candler, to provide aid and support to the Royal Anguilla Police Force (RAPF) by bringing into Anguilla senior UK police officers to carry out work in the areas of analysis and intelligence, particularly in gun-related incidents.
This promise was made on August 15th 2023, during a joint press conference on gun crime by the Police Commissioner and the Premier.
In responding to a question raised by Radio Anguilla’s Felicia Hennis, the Acting Governor said that he has had conversations with UK police, and that their support will be given to Anguilla in the coming months.
“One of the things we need to do,” Mr. Candler said, “is to work together to address this big issue of gun crime which is not peculiar to Anguilla but is a regional and international trend. In discussion with the Commissioner and the UK police, we have identified areas where the RAPF could use some urgent support, and these are in areas of analysis and intelligence. Therefore, we will be bringing in UK-trained senior police officers to Anguilla in the next few months to support the Commissioner’s work.”
The Acting Governor said that this support will serve to build up the forensic capability and the capacity of the RAPF.
Since the press conference on August 15th, the island continued to experience the blight of gun violence, with a twenty-seven-year-old male at a hotel in the Rendezvous area attacked by a gun wielding individual and sustaining several gunshot injuries on the night of Thursday 17th August, 2023.
Meanwhile, the RAPF is continuing to appeal to members of the public for any information they might have with regard to this and other gun-related crimes.
Police Commissioner Robert Clark said: “I really am appealing to all on this island to help us get on top of this problem.”
“There are information servers in California which are in no way connected to the local police station here,” the Commissioner remarked. “The information goes to California, before it comes to us in a sanitized state. Anyone with information about a crime can contact this website. Please use this site to help us to help this island get rid of the scourge of gun crime.”
“It is tragic when some is gunned down and loses his or her life. So, I appeal to all. If you know, please let us know. We must remove these weapons from our streets,” said a passionate Commissioner.
