Hours after the first murder of 2025, acting Police Commissioner Jacqueline Vanterpool called a press conference to reassure the public that police have made substantial progress in addressing a 12 percent increase in overall crime last year.
Accompanied by superintendents Paula Alleyne and Selwyn Rock and Chief Inspector Kenrick Davis, Ms. Vanterpool stood at a hastily placed podium inside the conference room at Police Headquarters in Road Town after a one-hour delay that police blamed on a last-minute National Security Council meeting.
“Last year was a difficult one for the [police force],” Ms. Vanterpool said during the Jan. 15 press conference. “I have just reviewed our crime figures and can report the crime increased in the [VI] by 12 percent compared to the previous year, 2023.”
The increase is directly related to a rise in gang activity, according to the commissioner, who attributed “many of our burglaries, robberies and vehicle attacks” to the Money Boys gang.
The gang, also known as “MB,” includes about 25 young men between the ages of 17 and 25 from communities across the territory, police said last November after a Long Bush shooting they linked to the group.
But last week, Ms. Vanterpool suggested that residents can expect a change for the better following the police force’s recent successes in the fight against the Money Boys.
“We grappled with the gang for several months, and toward the end of November we were able to limit their ability to commit crimes,” the commissioner said. “Working with the [director of public prosecutions] and the courts, we were successful in arresting and remanding several of their key players.”
Some of those key players, Ms. Vanterpool said, have already been found guilty.
“Because of the sacrificial work of our police officers, the festive season was safe, enjoyable and largely crime-free,” she said.
‘Tough year’
In addition to being a tough year in terms of crime, the force also experienced difficulty within its own ranks with an internal domestic abuse case at a time when 12 officers are on interdiction, according to Ms. Vanterpool.
Most of the problems in the force, however, were identified by other police officers, Mr. Davis said.
“I would say the vast majority of investigations [where a] police officer’s being arrested and charged emerged and started from within the [police force],” he said. “It’s not as though somebody came from outside or even somebody in the public said, ‘Something is wrong here.’ It’s other police officers looking at their own colleagues and saying, ‘That behaviour I will not tolerate.’”
Roughly 15 hours before the press conference, 20-year-old Quentinn Noel was gunned down near his residence in Purcell Estate — shot multiple times on his scooter just before 2 a.m. and pronounced dead at the scene, Ms. Vanterpool said.
“Earlier today, I visited Quentinn’s family at their home and expressed condolences on behalf of the [police force],” she added. “I also offered them my support as they go through this difficult time of grief. As commissioner, I told them that we will leave no stones unturned in our efforts to solve this crime and bring the offenders to justice.”
Ms. Vanterpool said Mr. Noel’s shooting was one of multiple incidents of reported gunshots around Tortola the same night.
“At about 3 a.m., officers responded to a report of shots fired at Brewers Bay,” the commissioner said. “About 30 explosions were heard by residents in the area. At about 3:30 a.m., officers responded to a report of shots fired again at Cane Garden Bay. Three spent ammunition casings were recovered at that scene.”
Mr. Alleyne told the Beacon that the territory saw four homicides last year, down from seven in 2023.
NSC meeting
After meeting the day of the press conference, the National Security Council released a statement offering condolences to Mr. Noel’s family and announcing an arrest.
“While investigating one of the reports of possible gunfire, the police apprehended a visiting male [United States Virgin Islands] citizen,” the release stated. “The NSC commended the [police force] for their quick response and offered its full support in this and other ongoing police investigations.”
Police have not provided further information about the arrested person.