UK-funded security advisor to boost BVI’s safety strategy

Governor Daniel Pruce has announced that the United Kingdom (UK) will fund a new senior security advisor to strengthen the BVI’s national security planning and coordination.

Speaking at a press conference this week, Pruce said the advisor will be “a security professional with a lot of experience, who can provide expert guidance and support on all matters related to the safety and security of the Virgin Islands.”

The position will be fully funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and is expected to be filled early next year, he told reporters.

The move follows commitments made during September’s Anti-Crime Summit, which highlighted increasing levels of serious crime.

“Robbery from January to September of this year has increased by 58% compared to the same period last year,” Pruce revealed, adding that “when you make the comparison with the five-year average, the increase is 131%.” He also reported that 18 firearms and more than 1,100 rounds of ammunition had been recovered by police during that period.

The Governor said the new advisor will support efforts to develop a comprehensive security strategy for the Territory. “This will be an important complement to the anti-crime strategy,” he said, noting that it would “help foster greater coherence between the various agencies involved.”

He also outlined several other commitments made at the summit, including the creation of a community advisory group for the National Security Council, improvements to the police radio communications network, and plans to install a coastal radar system to enhance maritime surveillance.

“The Joint Maritime Security Centre has already installed similar radar systems in Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos Islands,” Pruce said. “We will see how those two systems work in practice… to help inform the installation of a similar system in the Virgin Islands, which I expect to happen next year.”

Pruce added that an external investigation had been commissioned, with UK Ministry of Justice support, into the recent prison break involving two inmates. “That will be an important part of the follow-up process to this incident,” he said.

He acknowledged that rising crime had fuelled concern among residents but insisted that local law enforcement agencies were “working hard to achieve security and safety for everyone in the Virgin Islands.”