A prominent business leader in the Virgin Islands was recently in tears on the radio, where he expressed his wish to create a volunteer force of citizens to patrol the streets as a means of combating an escalating crime problem. Here was a man known for his tough guy image “seizing up” as he spoke of his concern for a community rapidly losing its values and ideals. He was right to be concerned. Every member of this community, whether rich or poor, young or old, black or white, is vulnerable to crime.
No one wishes to criticise the one organ of government charged with enforcing the law. The police are the centurions at the gates, tasked with protecting the community from anarchy and criminality.
In today’s VI, there is a quiet debate about whether the territory is getting value for money from the police force as it currently operates. This is a much-needed national dialogue about the composition and the modus operandi of the force. People are asking whether a force primarily designed to fight against criminality is currently succeeding in that veritable war.
There are many questions that must be asked: Are there sufficient feet on the ground in various parts of the community, especially in Road Town, where certain areas are becoming festering sores of illegality? What is the level of cooperation between police and community? How does the wider community feel about the police? Is the recent apprehension of suspects for murder, alleged fraud and money laundering a sign of better days ahead? Will the large number of unsolved crimes, especially murders, be tackled expeditiously? What is the level of morale in the force? And what measures are in place to improve that morale? Yes, the list of questions that can be asked is lengthy and consequential.
Culture, geography
Now, the VI is certainly not the United States or the United Kingdom. And policing methods must carefully consider the culture, geography and social history of a society. You can transpose policing ideas off the New York or London street, but you had better take into account the culture, customs and traditions of the community being policed. If not, all the policing concepts, ideas, strategies and good intentions become meaningless. Policing, ultimately, is a social and community affair, a very human and people-oriented business. Yes, the best police officer is a friend of the community, and a trusted friend at that: one to whom citizens willingly and swiftly offer information and support in the fight against crime.
In the US, Barack Obama’s former chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is soon to be sworn in as Chicago’s new mayor. The Economist recently reported that Mr. Emanuel wants to put 1,000 more officers on the streets of that city, and to tackle youth violence: nearly half the 436 murders victims in the Chicago streets in 2010 were between the ages of 10 and 25. What The Economist fails to tell us, though, is that the vast majority of the victims were young blacks.
Mr. Emanuel is tasked with shaking up a police department that is demoralised and in need of change. In order to carry out this herculean task, he plans to bring in a new crime-cutting cop to get the job done. To that end, he is appointing Garry McCarthy, Newark, New Jersey’s police director, as Chicago’s top cop. Apparently, this crime fighter’s track record is excellent, and his credentials are impeccable. Before going to Newark, Mr. McCarthy rose through the ranks of New York’s police department, shifting desk jobs to the street, where officers were ordered to clamp down on petty crime as well as the more serious offences. He also installed a surveillance system to take on gun crime.
Fast-forward to Newark in 2008, when the city led the nation in murder reduction with a 32 percent decrease. March 2010 was Newark’s first murder-free month in decades.
All will not be easy for Mr. McCarthy in Chicago this year. He will have to win the trust of Chicago’s police officers. He knows that he will fight gangs only by joining forces with community groups as he did in Newark, and he will emphasise beat policing and posting police in crime-ridden areas. And there lies the secret to this “super-cop’s” success: The first prerequisite to a successful police force appears to be good community relations. But before effective community policing can manifest, there must be high morale in the force, with excellent relations between all levels of the police hierarchy.
Mr. McCarthy appears to have appreciated this point as well: On his watch, police productivity increased and sick days decreased.
UK methods
It is a given that British policing methods have a great influence on how the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force operates. This is because the VI remains an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, with the governor in charge of the force. The British have always emphasised community policing. One reason why the British still frown on arming policemen is the belief that strong communal links makes arming the police unnecessary, as all efforts at crime prevention begin with good community relations. And the British are right in that estimation. A police officer ambulating with a weapon does not look community-oriented.
Consequently, there must be greater focus in the VI on building links at every level imaginable between police and community. This must be top priority, as it is the most effective way of combating a scary and growing juvenile and adult crime problem. And our businessman’s idea of a volunteer constabulary is in this thinker’s opinion an excellent one. What better way of policing the VI, than both police and citizens walking hand in hand to fight against the scourge that is crime.
Villages
And will that not create the very community-oriented police force that is so critical to the motley of village-type communities called the VI? Already, there is an RVIPF programme called DARE — Drug Abuse Resistance Education — that has this observer excited. DARE is a resource for protecting children and youth from the scourge of drugs and related evils, and the sight of the police commissioner participating in a uniquely melodious gospel fungi band is another perfect example of excellent community policing. Do we see a police-led cricket tournament or soccer league happening any time soon? I sincerely hope so!
An officer on the beat, trusted and backed by the community he regularly patrols, is the most powerful symbol of law enforcement in existence. The critical law enforcement personnel in the background — forensic experts, investigators, scribes and so on — may earn higher pay, but it is the beat officer on the street who has his ear to the ground. It is he who frequently gets the first inclination that something is wrong: that a murder is about to be committed; that an illegal deal is to go down; or that a certain male is selling drugs to school kids.
From foiling an attempt by terrorists to blow up jetliners over the Atlantic, to stopping a bunch of males raping a schoolgirl, it is the officer on foot patrol who is frequently the instigator of that critical first step in the investigative process that leads to crime prevention.