Timely and accurate data about the Virgin Islands’ population would lead directly to a better public service, a more dynamic business sector, and stronger non-profit organisations.
And that’s just a start.
It is therefore critically important for policymakers, community leaders and all other VI residents to fully support the 2020 census.
Unfortunately, the exercise is off to an exceedingly slow start.
The Central Statistics Office reports that roughly half the enumerators hired to carry out the census have quit in the face of hostility from the community. Such bad behaviour is shameful, and it will further impede a process that has already been delayed for far too long.
The CSO, which conducts the exercise, told the Beacon that data collection is only about 45 percent complete and that finishing it will take another six to eight months.
After that, the gathered data will need to be aggregated, analysed and published — a process that could take years in itself.
Previous censuses have also faced extended delays. The 2010 census, for example, was not published until 2014.
But this time around, the setbacks are on another level.
As in most other countries, census-taking happens about once a decade in the VI. Though the current exercise was originally slated to start four years ago, it was initially pushed back for understandable reasons, including the 2017 hurricanes and the Covid-19 pandemic.
But those challenges are in the past. Moreover, the unusual circumstances they created almost certainly contributed to major shifts in the VI’s population, housing stock, crime levels, homeless population, economy, health care and education system.
Collecting data about these issues is vital. For example, knowing how many buildings remain damaged after the 2017 hurricanes or how many children experience poverty can help government redirect scarce resources to meet society’s most pressing needs.
But for the CSO to collect such data, residents must participate and provide accurate information. Of course, many census questions are personal and sensitive. In a small community, for example, it’s understandable that some residents may be reluctant to say how much they earn or to disclose a family member’s health conditions.
To reassure them, enumerators and other officials must handle all data discreetly and aggregate it promptly while removing any personal identifying information. To further boost public confidence, the CSO should also consider widely publishing its procedures and data-privacy policies and detailing the penalties that its workers could face for gossip or other unlawful disclosure.
As a last resort, the agency should flex its muscles, including by levying fines up to $3,000 under new legislation passed this year. We hope, though, that such punitive measures won’t be necessary and that residents will instead come on board and participate out of civic duty.
As the CSO pushes to wrap up the ongoing census as soon as possible, the exercise should also serve as a learning experience with an eye toward the future.
The next time around, the territory must adopt the latest technology and best practices to make the process as efficient and painless as possible — and complete the 2030 census on time.