“The terror is creeping closer and closer into our lives.  People no longer feel comfortable going to the office because no one knows anyone’s connections and whether it is safe to be in their presence.

They especially do not know when the thief will come and, while we have been fortunate that s(he) is content to take cash and chattel, we have no idea when that extends into taking lives.

We have become like any prosperous country where security in offices is huge.  For now, ours is confined to locks on the doors and, perhaps, an Officer out front but in time, it will become more invasive.

The politicians who have not matched mouth and resources in the fight against crime will, in time, also lose their freedom to circulate at will amongst their constituents.  They will have to be attended to by security details.

And just like that, the magic, the charm of what people, tourists, have known as BVI would have been lost.

So, let us ask the questions.  Can this decadence be arrested in its tracks?  Can BVI be returned to a peaceful, law-abiding trajectory?  We believe that the answer to both questions must be in the affirmative if we hope to fulfill the promises that we have made ourselves for our children.

Who is responsible?  Well, that is a bit more complicated and complex.

What we know for sure is that the Governor, and by extension, the British have responsibility for internal security.  We believe they can do far better for the protection of the people than they have been doing.

The Police Commissioner reports directly to the Governor and they are supported by a National Security Council that includes the Premier and others.

But the Governor’s focus appears to be on COI matters although, to be fair, he has been a champion of the Police Act that had a first reading in the House of Assembly but has since fallen off the agenda.  

The fear of residents is that, without the need for search warrants, the Police Act may help to inspire corruption and victimization in the rank and file.  It would allow the police to target and harass residents by searching their homes and properties at will.  It may also criminalize, especially, young men and wreck and scar innocent lives.

The fear of the Minister for Internal Security (the Governor) is that not passing it may limit the options available to the police to become more aggressive on crime.  In any case, he holds the view that BVI is, in the main, a low crime, peaceful jurisdiction and that it is not yet time to call in the cavalry.

But the Minister for Internal Security will demit office shortly and leave the Territory so he will not be impacted, in any way, by the fallout from the Bill in its present form.

Cannot all the king’s horses and men employ their grey matter to give us a Bill that works?  One that may also regulate, with sanctions, the conduct and actions of the police so that the public is not at their mercy if internal corruption becomes a factor.

We know from the COI that the Police will be trusted to, internally, resolve their issues of corruption but that no such consideration will be given to the general administration.  So, the fear may not be totally misplaced.

We do not know how well the Minister for Finance supports the work of the police for while he does not command the ‘Brass,’ he must pay their bills.  But he, the head of the Executive Branch of government, has been thwarted by his technocrats and he has not yet found a way to assert his constitutional responsibility to the detriment of the public.

He cannot even discuss his own policies, urgent or not, in the Cabinet of his Ministers if his Financial Secretary and Attorney General do not nod.  And that nod, in many instances is weeks and months in coming backed up by pleading and begging.  So much for power and efficiency.

So, who is really running the shop?

The Public Service is becoming an albatross around the neck of State.  The Governor is responsible for the Civil Service with the DG as de facto Head.

Is the public asking too much in requesting of whoever is responsible to keep us safe?  It cannot be a question of financial resources with a budget of $400 million.

Whatever it may be, we need quick and urgent resolution because the quality of our lives is being eroded daily and fear is becoming a permanent resident.

We have a government so there is no reason life in the Territory should become, according to Hobbs, “..solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.”  The people of this Territory deserve better.

Fridays demand it.

 Happy Friday!”