Residents may be forgiven for feeling numb on the release of yet another scathing report about governance failings in the Virgin Islands.
The 2022 Commission of Inquiry, the conviction of former premier Andrew Fahie, and an untold number of reviews and news stories in recent decades have shown again and again that government agencies are letting down the public in a big way.
Nevertheless, residents should be shocked anew by the egregious problems exposed recently in a 175-page report on the VI’s law-enforcement and justice-administration agencies.
The report paints a damning picture of a public safety crisis that has developed over time as generations of leaders have dropped the ball on security issues.
It also provides new perspective on culpability. Because the UK-appointed governor holds responsibility for security, the report underscores an argument we made on this page after the COI: The territory’s governance failings cannot be blamed solely on the locally elected VI government despite its dismal record in this regard over successive administrations.
Rather, governors past and present must also shoulder blame — as must the UK itself for its historical role in implementing a colonial system of government here that has never been fully acceptable.
Accordingly, the new report should provoke residents to demand urgent and sustained reforms from the UK, Governor Daniel Pruce, Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley and many others involved in vital public safety functions.
The review — funded by the UK and carried out by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services — described VI law-enforcement agencies struggling with “deep-rooted weaknesses across many aspects of public administration, including leadership at all levels.”
The inspectorate’s preliminary findings included “squalid” and “inhumane” police and prison holding cells; a “chaotic” evidence storage system at the Royal VI Police Force; a customs staff that has gone too far in prioritising revenue collection over law-enforcement duties; and prison guards who lacked the “right keys” for the “right locks.”
The report also documented instances where law enforcers had to work in mould-infested buildings, furnish their own equipment, and get by with inadequate training.
And those are only some of the most glaring findings. More broadly, the report painted a picture of essential institutions that have long been underfunded, understaffed and poorly led.
It is no wonder, then, that public confidence in the VI justice system is disturbingly low.
The good news is that many of the report’s 138 initial recommendations for reform are inexpensive and straightforward. For instance, it should not be difficult to ensure that prisoners in police custody are checked hourly and that adequate records of that process are kept.
The initial reforms — some of which are already under way — come with deadlines, many of which fall this year. Leaders must meet these targets without fail.
To that end, Dr. Wheatley rightly pledged to provide the needed funding, and Mr. Pruce noted that an implementation manager has already been hired.
More difficult, however, will be the longer-term recommendations expected in a second volume of the report set to be published later this year. These measures will doubtlessly require close collaboration and substantial resources from the VI and UK governments alike over the course of years.
Kudos to the UK for commissioning the review in keeping with COI recommendations. Moving forward, leaders must act swiftly and efficiently to implement lasting change.
Without a properly functioning justice system, other democratic institutions could start to fail. Lives could hang in the balance.