Members of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) assisting with the clearing of roads folllowing the passage of Hurricane Irma one month ago on September 6, 2017. Photo: VINO

Michael B. Matthews, Commissioner of Police emphasized that the officers have been performing several roles in security and as a result they cannot be stationed everywhere. Photo: VINO/File

Hurricane Irma destroyed many buildings, including the Elmore Stoutt High School. Photo: VINO

This is according to Commissioner of Police (CoP), Michael B. Matthews on Sparks Plug aired on ZBVI 780 AM on Saturday October 28, 2017. Zoe J. Walcott-McMillan, Mrs BVI 2017 was the host of the radio show.

The commissioner admitted that the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) struggled following the hurricane because "40 percent of the officers reported for duty," while adding that they were "short of officers on the ground".

Commissioner Matthews stated that their top priority was to assist the Fire and Resuce with rescuing people from their homes then protection of property.

"You know many people said to me what about all the looting that went on and we had to make some really difficult decisions and the decisions that I made was protection of life first. We had to rescue people first and then as our numbers grew and the military arrived and other police officers arrived we started to tackle the crime issues," the commissioner explained.

Visibilty of officers

Meanwhile, the host of the show questioned the commissioner about the visibilty of officers at certain locations given the curfew extension.

She said, "Visibility is an issue and I’ve been going to Bobby's, Onemart and I have not seen the level of police presence that one would expect at a time like this. So what are your thoughts on that recognising that there has been an extension of curfew?"

In response, Mr Matthews emphasised that the officers have been performing several roles in security, noting that the RVIPF received 75 officers from the UK, Cayman Islands and Bermuda to assist with security.

"Our primary function is about giving reassurance to the public and trying to be visible as possible because there is no electricity in a lot of places and of course people haven’t got roofs, doors, locks. People need to feel reassured that the police are about and we are doing a mixture of mobile patrols –static patrols- but also to enforce the curfew," explained the commissioner.

Mr Matthews pointed out that the curfew is a "sensitive issue" because you are talking about people's freedom of movement, noting that about "98 percent" of the persons are complying with the curfew.

He further stated that the persons who are caught on the road after the curfew are committing offences.

"It’s been a challenging time for everybody and police service included. Policing is a delicate art and you can never put police officers everywhere," expressed Commissioner Matthews.