ST. CROIX — Residents voiced concerns about crime and related quality-of-life issues they experience in their neighborhoods while engaging the police commissioner and attorney general during back-to-back town hall meetings held Tuesday in Frederiksted and Wednesday in Christiansted by WTJX, the Virgin Islands Public Broadcasting System.
Tanya-Marie Singh, WTJX chief executive officer, who served as moderator during the town halls, discussed the role that WTJX, the PBS and NPR member stations serving the Virgin Islands, has beyond broadcasting.
“PBS stations are not only known for bringing awesome broadcast and programs to your living rooms, we are also across the country conveners of conversations, and that’s what we’re doing tonight,” she said during the first meeting Tuesday evening at the Rotary West building in Frederiksted.
The two-and-a-half-hour town halls, which concluded Wednesday evening in the Florence A. Williams Public Library, provided an opportunity for a full house of attendees on both nights to participate in question-and-answer sessions.
Senator Clifford Joseph, Committee on Homeland Security, Justice and Public Safety chair, whose office, along with the Virgin Islands Police Department, helped organize the town halls, welcomed attendees on both nights. The panelists offered brief introductions before the residents took turns asking questions.
Residents asked questions of Police Commissioner Mario Brooks, Attorney General Gordon Rhea, and Licensing and Consumer Affairs Commissioner H. Nathalie Hodge during the first night. Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion, who was unable to attend Tuesday’s town hall, joined the police commissioner and attorney general on the second night. Assistant Licensing and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Horace Graham, who sat in the audience on Wednesday, responded to a question in the absence of Hodge, whose flight issues delayed her arrival.
Residents questioned the police commissioner, who appeared with his top brass in the audience both nights, about his plan to tackle gun violence and homicides, as well as about the Virgin Islands Police Department’s use of surveillance cameras to help solve crimes. Residents questioned the panelists about efforts to engage youth in positive activities, mental health treatment options, and opportunities to volunteer with the VIPD.
The police commissioner and attorney general stressed during both town halls that they are working collaboratively to address crime in the territory and close open cases. In response to questions about staffing, Brooks and Rhea both acknowledged they are understaffed. In addition to adopting a new recruitment strategy, Brooks said the VIPD addressed a previous deployment issue that has resulted in an uptick of patrols in Frederiksted. Rhea said he has been able to complete work with a limited staff by shuffling managerial duties.
Rhea, who discussed the roles of the Virgin Islands Police Department, the Virgin Islands Department of Justice, and the Judiciary of the Virgin Islands, said police officers investigate cases to bring to the DOJ. He said prosecutors then try the cases in court, noting the judges make rulings and impose sentencing. He stressed the need for citizens to also play a part in the entire criminal justice process.
“Even though each of those steps is important, the most important step is you, it’s the community because unless the community comes forward and tells us what is happening and talks to the police openly, unless the community comes forward and says who is doing what, then charges can’t be brought, and unless members of the community are willing to stand up in a courtroom, take an oath and testify, we can’t try cases because a court can only hear a case in which evidence is presented, and the evidence has to come from the community,” he said during Tuesday’s town hall in Frederiksted.
An attendee who noted during Tuesday’s town hall that she works with victims said citizens are afraid to talk to the police. She questioned which agency is responsible for placing witnesses who testify in court into a safe house.
“What I’m concerned about is us as a community taking responsibility,” she said.
Brooks, in response, said the VIPD has spent thousands of dollars to place individuals in witness protection.
“This is something we do,” he said.
Brooks said the VIPD knows who the repeat offenders are in the territory who are committing crimes. He said, however, those individuals will keep residents as prisoners in their own homes until residents say something.
“If we want the problem to stop, we have to come together,” he said.
Some of the other issues residents addressed included speeding in school zones, motorcycle races on a public street, lack of enforcement against smoking in public, and loud music from vehicles, homes, and night clubs.
St. Croix Police Chief Uston Cornelius, in response to a question on Tuesday about motorcycle races, said the VIPD is engaged in talks with the Department of Public Works to install rumble strips to deter speeding on the road used for racing. He said equipment will be installed in school zones that will not only inform motorists of their speed, but issue tickets for speeding.
Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion said enforcement of the smoking ban is something her department must focus on. She suggested a need for her enforcement officers to work alongside the DLCA enforcement officers and police officers to issue citations for violations of the noise ordinance and smoking ban.
In order to enforce the noise ordinance and present evidence in court, Brooks said the VIPD has noise meters on order that are expected to arrive in the territory in two weeks.
On Tuesday, an attendee questioned Brooks about surveillance cameras in Frederiksted, suggesting half of them do not work. Brooks disagreed, stating the department has added 30 new cameras in Frederiksted since the beginning of the year. He said the VIPD is now working with the Law Enforcement Planning Commission to install another 25 cameras in Frederiksted.
“Our intent is to make sure that you cannot move anywhere in Frederiksted without us knowing,” he said.
After attendees indicated an interest during Tuesday’s town hall to assist police officers, the VIPD immediately responded by updating its website to make it easy for residents to volunteer their time. They advertised a QR code with a link to the website during Wednesday’s town hall.
Individuals interested in assisting police officers with events, supporting outreach programs, or lending a hand in neighborhood initiatives can fill out a VIPD community volunteer form on the department’s website, www.vipd.vi.gov, by hovering over the “Join the VIPD” tab and selecting “Community Volunteer.”
