The recent rash of violence across Tortola should serve as a wake-up call to police, policymakers and other residents to work together to tackle gang activity and other crime in the territory.
The reports that arose from a single 24-hour period beginning on Jan. 14 were extremely alarming. At 11:30 p.m. someone reportedly fired shots near a restaurant in Cane Garden Bay, police said. About two-and-a-half hours later, more shots were reportedly fired in Lower Estate. Shortly thereafter, 20-year-old Quentinn Noel was fatally shot near Purcell Estate. Starting at 3 a.m., more shots were heard in Brewers Bay and then Cane Garden Bay.
Police officers saw some success that night, arresting a man and seizing 200 rounds of ammunition. And they were particularly busy in the previous days as well, responding to shots fired in Hannahs Estate and arresting a suspect in a November shooting.
It came as no surprise on Jan. 15 when acting Police Commissioner Jacqueline Vanterpool declared during a press conference that crime had spiked by about 12 percent last year compared to 2023.
Of special concern is her claim that much of the recent violence has been linked to a gang called “Money Boys,” which police say includes around two dozen young men between the ages of 17 and 25. Officials have linked alleged gang members to the Nov. 8 shooting of K’zhari Stoutt as well as robberies, thefts, burglaries and other offences across the VI.
Ms. Vanterpool’s candour and transparency in discussing the territory’s crime issues this month were most welcome. So was her report that police have made good progress in stopping the Money Boys in recent months.
Also worth lauding is the diligence and bravery of all VI law enforcers and others involved in the dangerous and meaningful work of preventing and responding to criminality.
To support them, lawmakers should carefully consider police’s call for anti-gang legislation that would allow gang members to be charged without necessarily being linked directly to a specific act of wrongdoing. However, given the potential risks to civil liberties, any such law should be carefully reviewed before its passage — and it should then be applied judiciously and with caution.
Additionally, policymakers must redouble efforts to work with the community to tackle the root causes of criminal activity. This means improving education and social support, tackling economic problems, offering constructive activities to keep teenagers off the streets, and helping youths find employment opportunities, to name a few.
At the same time, leaders must also invest more in rehabilitation programmes for offenders, especially given the high number of young people among their ranks.
For the foreseeable future, the VI will remain vulnerable to gangs and guns: After all, it is a tiny archipelago with porous borders that is located amid major drug-trafficking routes and next to US territories where guns are readily accessible.
But in this small and historically tight-knit community, there is much that can be done.