The following is the text of a radio broadcast by Commissioner Rudolph Proctor in connection with Police week:
Citizens, Residents and Visitors of Anguilla during the week of 27th January – 2nd
February, 2013 the Royal Anguilla Police Forcewill be celebrating Police Week and it’s 41st Anniversary under the theme “Celebrating Our Achievement, Recognizing Our Challenges, Embracing Our Alliances” for Police Week 2013.
As we reflect on the year 2012, and the many challenges that confronted us as a people and as a Police Force, there is no doubt that etched in our memories would be the fear caused by the increase in criminal activities that emerged during that period.
Despite these challenges the members of the Royal Anguilla Police Force stayed focus and were committed to their tasks in ensuring that the island remained somewhat safe and peaceful.
The island’s image was marredby several tragic incidents, which left the Anguillan Community concerned and consumed by fear. There were three shooting incidents Which left three young men paralyzed?There were also the senseless deaths of five young men all as a result of violence. This created a level of fear and concern in the minds of Anguillians and visitors to our beloved island.
There were a lot of emotions generated in Anguilla as a result of these tragic and senseless incidents, and some in the community were quick to apportion blame while offeringno assistance or solutions.
I must however, thank those members of our community who went beyond the call of duty to assist the Royal Anguilla Police Force in the pursuit to bring the perpetrators of some of the violent incidents to justice. Your commitment to assist the Royal Anguilla Police Force re-enforces what partnership can achieve when we work together to eradicated this scourge of violence from our communities.
The assistance you have provided, allowed us to confront the misguided youths and bring them to justice to answer for their actions. Their only intention was to disrupt our way of life with their violent acts and instill fear in the minds of our communities.
This required a deliberate show of unity and partnership working together to curtail this emerging and threatening menace which had the potential to destroy our image as a peaceful island. The level of violence had the potential to negatively impact the economic activity on our island at every level therefore we all had a vested interest in working together to find solutions to end the violence.
As commissioner of police I must say it was disheartening to see the limited support that the force received in its pursuit of halting the surge of criminal activity we experienced in 2012. Security is the strongest foundation on which to build our economy and we should not compromise it in anyway, therefore I will ask all Anguillians to get on board and let us work together to strengthening the security of our island.
Through this medium I am happy to thank the Governor’s Office and the Government of Anguilla for their support in providing some of the resources for us to discharge our obligations as a law enforcement organization to the residents of Anguilla. We fully appreciate that we were operating indifficult financial times, and we tried to work within the austerity measures to ensure that our people received the level of service required to make them safer.Though these were tough conditions to operate under and we were confronted withvarious resource challenges we were still successful in using strategies to tackle firearm crimes and violence on this island.
The recovery of six illegalfirearms were significant, considering the limited information shared with us by the public. The arrests made in the murder investigations that occurred in 2012 were also significant achievements and helped with the force murder detection rate.
There are those persons in our community who can render assistance particularly in the unsolved murder case but fail to contribute. There are even instances where victims have refused to cooperate with the detective officers. However I must remind you that your assistance is still required. I am appealing to all residents who have witness crime to give the necessary evidence that will bring all the perpetrators of crime and violence in our home land to justice.
I would hasten to say that your lack of support, benefits these bandits who are left to co-exist with us without fear of been caught because of your reluctance to assist us in our fight against crime and violence.
The security of Anguilla rest with all of us and we should contribute in every moment to make our contribution in keeping the home land safe.
We the members of the Royal Anguilla Police Force are prepared to do our part in the fight against crime and violence and all forms of anti-social behaviour that threaten the peace and tranquility of our society.
The violence and senseless acts that beset us in 2012 can be tackled and brought under control. All that is needed is a unified approach between you and us (Royal Anguilla Police Force). We must be ready to condemn those that perpetrate the crime in our communities, while we work together to ensure that it is done.
The Royal Anguilla Police Force will only be as successful as you want it to be. We cannot be everywhere at the same time, hence your support is needed to assist when we are not there. The time has come for you to stop hiding behind the perception of the Police Force being unconfidential. Again this only works to the benefit of a very dangerous and reckless group of young criminals while the social fabric of our communities are eroded and our economic environment is threatened.
However, I will like to point out that successful implementation of Community Partnership will largely depends on how well Police Officer manage confidentiality of information and intelligence volunteered by the community. The Police must therefore observe strict confidentiality to ensure that the information from the public is not disclosed to the wrong person. As a result this will help in cultivating trust among members of the public and also ensure that joint planned operations do not leak to criminals.
The Royal Anguilla Police Force will continue to discharge its functions with firm resolve to reduce the level of crime and fear in our communities. Efforts will be made to increase public safety and to reassure citizens and residents of our ability to keep them safer.
Community Partnership is based on the understanding that criminals live in society and are known to members of society. Community members are therefore in a position to play a crucial role in fighting crimes by reporting criminals to the Police.
This will however require the full commitment of all members of the Royal Anguilla Police Force working in partnership with the people of Anguilla. We recognize that if we are to achieve any measure of success we have to work with all sectors of our society and all of our citizens. Partnership, confidentiality and trust are therefore crucial elements for successful policing.
I would now like to take this opportunity to commend my officers for the good work of maintaining law and order under such difficult circumstances. I must also state there were some officers who fell short of their obligation. However, I am encouraging you to change your attitude and raise the bar since it is our duty to help make Anguilla safer and by extension we are paid to do so.
While we will still focus on our mandate and not lose sight of our obligation to you, this week we will put on a show to display a lighter side of policing.
I must commend the Police Week Committee for putting together a full week of activities where you will see a fusion of the Community and the Police celebrating in unison.
