Operation Shepherd – a joint police, border force and regiment operation undertaken during the holiday season – has reported impressive numbers, and the government has decided to extend the operation.
The agreement to extend was made by the government and the governor during a special meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) on January 5th.
The primary focus of the meeting was to review the incidents and multi-agency operations initiated over the festive period.
A statement on the meeting noted that Operation Shepherd marked a significant milestone in joint operations with the teams resourcing vehicle checkpoints, coastal surveillance for irregular migrant vessels and supporting the security of key community events.
The vehicle checkpoints were assessed to be particularly effective with 1524 vehicles being stopped, 199 traffic tickets being issued, and 48 cars being removed from the roads due to lack of insurance.
In reviewing ongoing security requirements, the National Security Council agreed to recommendations to extend the arrangement.
Accordingly, the Governor has issued a directive under the Defence Ordinance, to extend TCI Regiment support to the RTCIPF until Wednesday, January 31st.
Meanwhile, also coming up during that NSC meeting was the multi-agency assistance from regional and international partners that was secured to bolster security efforts.
These additional assets were brought in to provide aerial and marine support to the RTCIPF, TCI Regiment and TCI Border Force.
The NSC reports these multi-agency operations included a successful operation on Friday, January 5, involving a Royal Bahamian Defence Force Cutter, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service’s helicopter and air support from the United States Coastguard to interdict a vessel carrying 215 illegal migrants.
The vessel was escorted safely to Providenciales, where its occupants were processed and repatriated by TCI Border Force.
The Security Council was further briefed on work to increase surveillance measures in support of marine domain awareness.
Members also discussed work to progress youth crime prevention programmes, with a key focus on addressing the root causes and creating opportunities for positive development.
