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February 21, 2007
Remarks by Governor John P. deJongh at a press conference to announce the new leadership team of the Virgin Islands Police Department Good morning and thank you for being here. This is my first press conference since being sworn in as Governor. I have called today’s news conference to discuss an issue that is critical to every resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the issue of crime and public safety. In the short time that I have been Governor, our territory has experienced a stabbing death at the St. Croix Festival—that stabbing committed by minors; the shooting of a tenth grader on the campus of a public high school and the murder of a police officer in broad daylight. These events have taken place against a background of many other, less-publicized crimes. We all know the problem, we know it is real, and we know it is intolerable…44 unsolved murders over the past two years are not acceptable; a riot on a high school campus is not acceptable; the 125 burglaries on St. John last year, without a single arrest or conviction, are not acceptable. I believe that we have all come to the point, no, we have gone past the point, that enough is enough! We must choose order and opportunity over chaos and crime. I am encouraged by reports that most recently after the dreadful death of Officer Ariel Frett, our residents stepped forward with information and assistance to our police. Law enforcement officers are whom we turn to in a civilized society to maintain order and justice. I have made it clear to our police department, to the Attorney General and to the Federal agencies with whom we must work, and with whom I have met, that I expect action and I expect it now! I want to hear about more illegal weapons taken off of our streets, and less about known criminals not being prosecuted. I want to see and hear of positive changes. I have directed Attorney General nominee Vincent Frazer to hire and train more prosecutors and that they work with police to build their cases and win convictions. We will work on many things at once. We may not get it all done, but I would rather have a problem with too many violent criminals crowding our jails than too many violent criminals hanging out on our street corners. This is not about threats and rhetoric, but about the systematic targeting of criminal activity. It is about getting the forensics done right and on time. And it is about all of us working together to save the futures of our children. We must not fail to keep them safe and to provide them with the hope and the skills of a crime-free future. And so, it is today my considerable pleasure to announce my selection of James H. McCall as Commissioner of Police. I am pleased that I found exactly what we need here in our Police Department. While some may be pleased that he is not from here, I find all of that irrelevant. What is important to me is that he brings to the challenges of his new position, the experience and knowledge gained during a long and distinguished career. Let me share with you some of his experiences and achievements. Mr. McCall comes to us as a Supervisory Special Agent of the federal government’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, or A-T-F. His career started, however, after college, when he served as a probation officer and then a police officer in Houston, Texas. He rose through the ranks of the Houston police department from patrolman to a member of their SWAT team to the Houston police department’s Intelligence Unit. In 1984, Jim McCall became an A-T-F agent and rose in the ranks of that organization, winning two Secretary of the Treasury awards. From 1991-1994, he was one of the first A-T-F agents assigned to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Following his tour here, he moved on to be the supervisor of the Albuquerque, New Mexico field office before becoming the A-T-F’s ombudsman in Washington, D.C. He was later assigned to the Virgin Islands Police Department in 2004. Commissioner McCall knows what needs to be done and how to do it. He and I have been clear and direct in our discussions. He has begun full discussions with Attorney General Frazer about what they must do together. Indeed, they have begun to mend a totally unacceptable rift that has divided our Police Department from our Justice Department. Commissioner McCall will be speak to you of the challenges of recruitment, training, school safety and in getting our crime lab operational. I have ordered a full and immediate review of school safety issues that will begin by bringing together principals, police and school monitors. We all must work together to succeed together. We need over 100 police officers in each district, yet there has been no police department recruiter. I have ordered the immediate selection of a recruiter and directed that we hire and utilize the assistance of a specialized recruitment firm or firms to rebuild our police force to its full strength. With these new officers, we will increase the visibility of officers in the community. Given his long federal service, I have confidence that Jim McCall can also build and, where necessary, rebuild the relationship we need with the federal law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Attorney’s Office if we are to call upon their expertise and far greater resources to assist us in police work and prosecutions; border protection, drug interdiction, interstate and international trafficking of weapons and expertise in investigating gang violence. These, are all examples of where this federal-local cooperation is essential. Before I turn the podium over to Commissioner McCall, I would also like to announce that I have asked Territorial of Police Chief Novelle Francis, Jr. to serve as Assistant Police Commissioner. His years of service and expertise especially in the areas of criminal investigations and special operations should not and will not be lost to our efforts---our team efforts. Francis is a native son of St. Croix who has grown through the ranks of the V.I. Police Department. He previously held positions of St. Croix Deputy Police Chief, Acting Deputy and Acting Chief of Police and Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Police. Assistant Commissioner Francis brings an almost twenty year distinguished police career to his new assignment. Throughout last year, I spoke of the need to empower a commissioner to select district police chiefs and to run an efficient and effective department of police. I have full confidence that Commissioner McCall understands what needs to be done and will get it done. These are his orders and that is his duty, not just to me, but to the people of the Virgin Islands. |
