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RVIPF has resources to fight gun crime but needs strategy- Hon Mather

- First time legislator says Force needs a different approach to fighting crime
Opposition Legislator Hon Stacy M. Mather (AL) has said the RVIPF has received millions to secure the VI but an effective approach is needed for better results. Photo: VINO/Facebook
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Hon Ronnie W. Skelton (AL) said in the past while in Government, the VI was. plagued with similar issues as it related to gun crimes and drug trafficking. Photo: Facebook
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Hon Ronnie W. Skelton (AL) said in the past while in Government, the VI was. plagued with similar issues as it related to gun crimes and drug trafficking. Photo: Facebook
Second District Representative, Hon Melvin M. Turnbull (AL) he believes there is a arrative being played out for the VI to be labelled a corrupt and bad place. Photo: Facebook
Second District Representative, Hon Melvin M. Turnbull (AL) he believes there is a arrative being played out for the VI to be labelled a corrupt and bad place. Photo: Facebook
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI– Opposition Members in the Virgin Islands House of Assembly (HoA) have slammed the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) as having enough resources to fight crime but lacking a strategy to get the job done.

Opposition Legislator Hon Stacy M. Mather (AL), while responding to questions on the RVIPF, said the RVIPF has received millions to secure the VI but an effective approach is needed for better results.

“We’ve sat in the House of Assembly since I have been elected, and we have allocated money to the RVIPF... We have allocated funds for them to the tune of millions of dollars… I think the RVIPF have resources… but the approach needs to be different,” he said at an Opposition Press Conference on March 19, 2024.

RVIPF has the capacity - Hon Skelton 

Opposition Leader Hon Ronnie W. Skelton (AL) said in the past while he was in Government, the VI was plagued with similar issues as it related to gun crimes and drug trafficking.

He added that the RVIPF does not lack the capacity but rather needs to beef up their operations internally, whenever the situation arises.

This beefing up, he added, would be additional capacity and that is the responsibility of the Governor to seek the resources and get the job done.

Narrative being pushed - Hon Turnbull 

Meanwhile, Second District Representative Hon Melvin M. Turnbull (AL) said he believes there is a narrative being played out for the VI to be labelled as a corrupt and "bad" place.

He said; however, there needs to be a demand from VI’s leadership about what the VI wants and questions asked about what resource is needed.

“Not that we want to have the BVI be a police state, but we need to curtail some of this violence, we need to contain some of these persons who feel they can go out and kill people in broad daylight, and when night comes you don’t feel safe in your own community,” he said.

11 Responses to “RVIPF has resources to fight gun crime but needs strategy- Hon Mather”

  • jack@$$ (21/03/2024, 15:22) Like (38) Dislike (7) Reply
    Well what's the strategy then............I have one. If Smith had a licensed firearm at his home maybe he wouldn't have died after calling the police for help. He could've shot his attacker and lived to defend himself in court for self defense from home invasion. When you outlaw all guns then only the lawless criminals will have them and that gives them the advantage. High target individuals should receive firearms if wanted along with firearm training for responsible ownership. Without this as I said you will only have criminals with no firearm training. The killer maybe didnt even mean to kill but got scared and pulled the trigger by reflex. This is purely speculation on my part as I don't have the details of the event but am just trying to make a point. We need guns to fight gun crimes, obviously fighting gun crime with words is not working and outlawing all of them has not helped.
    • @ Jack$ (23/03/2024, 06:48) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      Sure. We could then settle our differences with violence, Haiti-style. No need for a judicial system and therefore no need for lawyers against whom some might hold a grudge.
  • The #1 Resource.. (21/03/2024, 15:25) Like (35) Dislike (0) Reply
    Informant. Pay them good and keep them confidential..
    • yao @ the #1 (21/03/2024, 18:20) Like (5) Dislike (1) Reply
      I cant disagree at the effectiveness of an informant, historically spies win wars but the Uk has a history of letting informants run wild and look the other way when they commit multiple murders to keep the informants on their side.

      The bbc recently published an article on the history of Irish informants, it was bad, and the bbc makes the UK look good so it had to be way worse.

      The next problem is there are informants who due to "pay them good" make it their mission to getting a normal person to do stuff they would have not been involved in at all in the first place.

      Remember staying confidential means allowing a dirty lying criminal to continue as normal, & trust they will not lie to their handlers for their own survival. An informant is not to be trusted unless they were clean to start.

      We need to hire some game developers because even I can see we have people who want more powers without considering how bad people WILL abuse it.
    • @#1 Resource. Foreign detective (22/03/2024, 07:19) Like (16) Dislike (0) Reply
      Agreed, but in my days as a detective most of my reliable information came from 3 main sources, 1/ Ladies loving me and I had many..2/.Night at bars liming n drinking especially on weekends.3/ Crack heads, these people provide some of the best and reliable information for $20.00 but on the other hand some are very slick, and they will say what they tell you for another $20 from the criminal, though they gave the best info they are very risky and dangerous to deal
      with.. That is why I will always say a Christian cannot be a good detective a monday to Friday family man cannot be a good detective..So, Informant and good police / detective work is what really needed..
  • mad max (21/03/2024, 16:34) Like (15) Dislike (1) Reply
    If all you "honest" people gave information, the police would be able to follow the leads.
  • Too late will be the cry (21/03/2024, 16:44) Like (10) Dislike (1) Reply
    The BVI has always been soft on criminals and let's be honest, many have lost the respect for the law.
  • Yao (21/03/2024, 18:05) Like (5) Dislike (3) Reply
    "This beefing up, he added, would be additional capacity and that is the responsibility of the Governor to seek the resources and get the job done."

    Thanks for the dose of nonsense.

    All this smart talk is why we cant find the solution. Look at the law around what is considered "an offensive weapon", anything you pick up for protection is an offensive weapon. There is no protection at all for the average citizen. There is a false sense of security in believing an all knowing police state will fix all the problems and teleport in when robbery & murders are in progress.

    The way this place is going young people cant raise kids here because in 20y those kids could end up getting shot or shooting back and still get charged for their own self defense.

    If this was a video game it would be trash.

    Game developers dont let players abuse other players or they would be out of a job *cough*.

    We have so few roads, even fewer main intersections.

    In Road Town why was there no drone up in the air to track those Aladin robbers on the getaway? Avoid a shoot out but still be on their trail.

    We are in the stone age.

    When banks get robbed in the states they drive so reckless only the helicopter stays on them.

    We need to be a little more militarized physically and that doesnt mean a bigger gun, put the automatics away officers. Every cop car & boat should have a drone for dangerous pursuit & various purposes.

    Was there no officer seeing it go down in road town?

    Back to society...
    Do we have any outlet for people to aspire to something more expansive & stay out of trouble? Ok Guyana but what is so great about Guyana, it could be great I dont know. UK office OK, Hong Kong Office OK, Taiwan scholarships OK. But why have a partnership without actively showing the average people why BVI landers want to go there.

    No country in Africa wants to partner?

    Do we have a main export in the works creative arts, quality fish, are we going to be training gambling experts that can work in top casinos abroad due to financial services being attacked & tourism being volatile?

    I dont think we have any strategy for society but security is a priority... quality of life changes come after fixing the game.

    Thankfully the governor is responsible for our security and the government is responsible for maintaining our quality of life, meaning they can work on both at once.

    Free the weed for the average joe & legalize it already because that exposes a huge section of society to criminal connections & it will continue. Rather than them linking up with a farmer or growing it themself the smoking population are funneled to violent people who probably have guns & never grew a plant in their life. Weed is a gateway to bad company, thanks to the law.
  • IGNORANT (21/03/2024, 21:50) Like (7) Dislike (2) Reply
    The man knows nothing about policing strategy, policing tactics, or policing operations. He should keep his mouth shut. This is one of the men who challenged a request for funding for items to be forensically examined for DNA, he argued that police managed to solve crime before DNA was discovered. Do I need to say any more?
  • HMMM (22/03/2024, 09:00) Like (4) Dislike (2) Reply
    The only stragidy they have in mind is to get in the force to collect the US BILL! That's it!!
  • Guest (22/03/2024, 12:01) Like (4) Dislike (4) Reply
    Less than 12 months in and this one-termer, Stacey Mather is an expert on policing and crime. Please present a draft of your strategy.


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