RVIPF grappling with 33 unsolved murders
Speaking on the Tuesday, July 24, 2019, edition of 'Honestly Speaking' on ZBVI 780 AM with host Mr Claude O. Skelton-Cline, Commissioner Matthews disclosed that one of the challenges to murder investigations is that quite often persons from overseas who commit murder in the VI would get assistance from locals to flee the territory.
Locals helping foreign criminals - CoP Matthews
"Normally, within a few hours of a shooting in the territory, especially if we think it's a kind of gang type hit or a retribution killing... normally, that person is on a boat or on a plane, the killer is on their way... and being helped on occasion by local people," Mr Matthews, noting that the force has the ability to track foreigners who commit crimes.
"As we sit here today, there are people living in other countries that we are working tirelessly with the jurisdictions of those countries to not only track their movements but also if possible to get them back to the BVI,” he said.
The Police Commissioner said that even where there is sufficient evidence to charge and to extradite someone, it is not an easy process as rights must be protected until proven guilty in the court system.
Speaking directly on crimes that happened after the hurricanes of 2017 in the Virgin Islands, Mr Matthews said the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) has already made preparations to mitigate any possible criminal activity such as looting, that can mirror what happened in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Commissioner Matthews also lamented that the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria of 2017 presented one of the worst periods on record for homicide in the Virgin Islands (VI).
White-Collar Crimes
On the question of white-collar crimes, Mr Matthews said the force might not have all the skills to effectively go after certain offences like white-collar crimes and fraud.
Pointing out that white-collar crimes often involve the silent movement of money in almost unseen circumstances, he said for VI cases, the force might need outside help and assistance to investigate the full scope of such criminal activities.
"A force of 240, 260 regular officers looking after the Virgin Islands across the range of things that policing has to provide, we don't necessarily have all of those specialist skills in the territory," Police Commissioner Matthews said.
1 Response to “RVIPF grappling with 33 unsolved murders”