Crime Factors

Appendix 3: Law and Order. I want us to take one last look at the recently published National Audit Office Report titled, “Managing Risk in the Overseas Territories” [link here]. Then we shall return to the Environmental Charter and problems that have been indentified with how we in Anguilla are living up to our commitments. Appendix 3 of the NAO Report contains a part dealing with law and order. Most of it is not new. But, it is useful to see how we and our policing problems are perceived outside of Anguilla. It reads:

Anguilla is heavily dependent on tourism. Real or perceived increases in crime can have negative effects on the tourist industry, which trades on Anguilla’s reputation as an upmarket, low crime destination. In late 2006 and 2007, a spate of property offences and robberies caused concern among the expatriate community and nationals. While a number of offences were attributed to one man, some 186 crimes were recorded by the Royal Anguillan Police Force in the first three months of 2007 and led to the Chief Minister convening an emergency meeting in April 2007, establishing a Multidisciplinary Committee on Crime and pledging to increase the number of police officers to 100. Some 20 new recruits are now in training but recruitment remains a major problem.

Anguilla’s Prison was built in 1996 with UK funding. However, it currently fails to meet minimum standards of security and segregation. A serious assault led to the death of a remand prisoner in 2006. The prison’s town centre location and its basic perimeter fence enables contraband goods to enter the site. There have been three break outs in the last two years, with the latest, in August 2006, leading to the creation of a Prison Task Force, attended by the Head of the Governor’s Office, to review the security situation. Conclusion: The main problem for the Anguillan Police and Prison service is the ongoing difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff.

In March 2006, a Drugs and Firearms Task Force was set up with joint funding by the Government of Anguilla and the Department’s Overseas Territories Programme Fund. The aim was to combat a rise in drugs-related crime, including several murders, which threatened Anguilla’s status as an upmarket tourist destination (from a very low base; in 2005, there were only 16 firearms offences). During its first six months of operation, the Task Force arrested over 40 people, discovered 230kg of cannabis and 22kg of cocaine. With UK support, Anguilla has introduced a number of measures to prevent firearms from being imported, including training of customs, immigration and police officers to recognise suspicious behaviour, and installing an X-ray machine to scan baggage entering Anguilla.

The UK has provided funds for a Prison Officer to be seconded from the Cayman Islands. They have been instrumental in training local prison staff, and raising standards. However, the inherent inadequacy of the prison infrastructure remains.

I had only been vaguely aware that there was a recruitment problem with the police and the prison. I found it gratifying to know that they had confiscated such a quantity of drugs. It was the mention of the X-ray machine at Blowing Point that made me smile. I know there is one that checks baggage leaving Anguilla. It is conspicuously installed in the Departure Lounge. But, I thought everyone knew that there is no X-ray machine functioning in the Arrivals Lounge. I do not recall seeing even a non-functioning one. The French authorities in St Martin have insisted that we check the shoppers and day trippers going to Marigot. They on their part do not perform any security check on passengers leaving St Martin for Anguilla. Nor do we appear to have any concern for what persons arriving from St Martin bring back to Anguilla!