Good afternoon my fellow Turks and Caicos Islanders.
I would like to begin with expressions of condolence in the face of national grief on the senseless loss of the life of Mr. Alpheus Gardiner and all those who have been victims of crime but especially murder and other violent crimes.
To the family of Mr Gardiner, I extend to you my heartfelt sympathies and to all those who have been victimized through these traumatizing criminal acts.
In what may be described as a crisis, it is human nature for you to expect your Premier to fix things fast. However, in a complex situation like the emerging pattern of violent opportunistic crime, familiar answers might not work and could even be counterproductive.
My message to you this afternoon is not an easy one to hear. There is no ‘off-the-shelf’ solution to the troubling challenge we face.
With all the unknowns and uncertainties, we need to remind ourselves that we cannot change the past, but we can change how we perceive it and how we look to the future.
Given the totality of the dynamics, the problem is enormous, and all 40 plus thousand of us will have to work together to overcome it.
Together we will get through this difficult period as we stand in place the appropriate nerve centre and networking framework to improve the overall security of our beautiful country. I am asking you to take care of each other and I’m counting on you to do so.
This is not a time for polarising opinions, quick fixes, false promises, or overly simplistic answers. In other words, the problem is not going to be solved by a command-and-control style. The solution requires dialogue and collaboration to find novel solutions and not be driven by fear. We must not flinch in the face of laggards and cowards by having them dictate how we live our lives.
Your Government has been proactive; we have invested heavily in security infrastructure and manpower for the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) from around 320 to north of 350.
Yesterday, Friday, 15 October 2021, five detectives from the United Kingdom were sworn in to the RTCI Police Force with another 10 detectives to be sworn in over the next 60 days. In addition to this, RTCIPF is in the process of recruiting 18 local officers.
We have a very proactive National Security Council – nerve centre and networking across Government. Crime and national security are at the forefront of my Government’s agenda; indeed when the shooting took place, I along with my colleagues were meeting to discuss critical national security matters, in a specially convened National Security Council meeting.
We are improving upon the traditional way of crime-fighting; my Government is pivoting toward a technology-enhanced approach to dealing with these incidents of violent crimes.
To demonstrate our seriousness in dealing with the matter, we intend to make the Turks and Caicos Islands one of the safest destinations in the world by leveraging our financial strength to do so.
God bless you all and may He bless the Turks and Caicos Islands. Thank you.
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