Wednesday July 21, 2010

Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE has pledged government’s support to the establishment of Crime Stoppers BVI in the Territory.

At the launch ceremony held on Tuesday afternoon, at Quito’s Gazebo, the Premier welcomed attendees and persons from Crime Stoppers International.

“Crime stoppers have been successful in a lot of places and there is no reason why it cannot flourish here and make life easier for all. I give you my personal guarantee that I will support this organisation because it is for all of us to work together to eradicate crime,” Honourable O’Neal said.

He highlighted that this programme is very important and expressed that all individuals within the community should do their part to aid in preventing and stopping crime by ensuring the necessary information is passed on.

Honourable O’Neal said the police are doing their best as we continue to hear of findings during their frequent stop and search operations, which results in the seizure of guns, ammunitions and arrests.

He added, “We are a tourist destination and a financial services centre and if we allow the criminal elements to proposer and flourish, the tourism and the financial services sector will be negatively affected.”

The Virgin Islands follows New Zealand and Mexico as the third country to join Crime Stoppers International this year.

The Territory is also the 11th Caribbean body out of a total of 25 countries internationally, which operate the Crime Stoppers programme. The programme is used to combat crime through effective collaboration with the community, media and Police.

Persons with information on any criminal activity in the Territory can now telephone 800-8477 or post information online via website www.crimestoppersbvi.com. As stated by Crime Stoppers BVI, both the telephone call and online access are confidential, untraceable and free as person’s identity will remain anonymous.

Government envisions a strong community alliance in their quest to provide a safe environment for persons, property, communities and public spaces against all forms of criminal activity.