Statement by Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. on Crime

There is an understandable and warranted sense of fear and anger being felt throughout the Virgin Islands as a result of the recent number of serious and violent crimes that have been committed. But, these emotions do not match the fury and determination that I intend to bring to bear as we continue to work to make our Territory safer. Neither anger nor sadness can distract us from focusing our efforts and doing the work that needs to be done in order for us to deal both with the immediate threats we face, as well as with the still-uncorrected origins of the violence we are experiencing. We do not have the luxury of dealing with one, and not both. 

It especially saddens me that much of this violent behavior is coming from our young people, some so young that they can barely be considered adults. But make no mistake; the crimes they are committing are as adult and as violent as can be. Thirty-eight homicides as of May 31st, and well on a path to surpass last year is completely unacceptable and goes to the core of our value system as a community. 

It affects our families, impacts our children, eats away at our quality of life, and lends itself to a sensationalism that builds an anxiety that what we are going through is uncontrollable or without foundation. But, it is explainable. Sixty-five percent of those charged with these homicides or the victims of homicide have either been in the criminal justice system before or were a person of interest to local and federal law enforcement agencies at the time of the event.

To address what actions are needed in the here and now requires the committed involvement of all in our criminal justice system -- police, prosecutors, judges, probation officers and corrections officers. No one who works in the system can do anything other than cooperate with everyone else if they are not to become part of the problem. Our criminal justice system must adopt a zero tolerance attitude to this violence. Those in the system must do all that is necessary, within the constraints of the law, to protect the residents of this Territory who rightfully demand that the safety of their families not be put at risk. 

This requires firm and assertive police officers, prosecutors who will not plea bargain away those crimes that will expose the convicted to real and meaningful penalties, judges who will interpret and use the law to send the tough message through court management and sentencing that no branch of government tolerates violence and criminality, probation officers who will take the initiative and check and report violations of probation, and correction officers who will monitor with fairness all in prison so that our prisons do not breed more crimes.

We have implemented a policy of no tolerance for those in possession of illegal guns, and we have taken more guns off our streets. A majority of the guns taken off the streets have always been illegal, but some were legally-registered firearms that had been stolen and the theft not reported before these weapons were used in a violent act. We are cracking down and cleaning up areas known for drug activity. We are prosecuting perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law and seeking stiffer sentences, and we have limited the discretion of prosecutors to plea bargain. 

We are doing more traffic stops, implementing saturated patrols in key areas, and we have more of our officers walking the streets and reaching out to neighborhood organizations to organize. We are utilizing the experience of our retired officers and investing in our young through a cadet corps. And we are continuing to reach out to you, to all in the community, to make clear what we are doing and how your continued involvement is the key to our collective success. There has been progress. And there will continue to be progress.

I do not think I need to tell Virgin Islanders that the problems we now face are not problems that can be solved by the criminal justice system alone. And surely we all acknowledge that by the time the police, prosecutors and courts get involved in a young man’s life, and let’s realize this is largely a problem of our young men, there has already been a drastic failure.

Our present troubles shine a light on a sad reality that must be acknowledged: Too many in our Territory have abdicated their duties as parents and guardians. For whatever reason – having a child at too young an age, the burden of holding down two jobs, or just the fear of their child’s response to attempts at discipline -- they have not offered the structure and support and consistent discipline many have needed to establish their own sense of confidence and their own value system. Juvenile probation officials recently confirmed that the majority of male detainees do not know their fathers and if they do, do not have a relationship with their fathers. Indeed, over half had no idea where their fathers currently live. 

We have recognized these sad facts and the need to address the reality they describe. That is why we started Parent University in the Department of Education, that is why we established the Children & Families Council, that is why we have begun the series of programs to educate adults on gang influences, why we have invested more in recreational facilities than has ever been done before, and why we have started more free after-school programs. We know we must foster youth involvement and build self-confidence in our young people, in spite of our budgetary limitations; we are proceeding with implementing an intensive juvenile counseling and intervention program in the STT STJ district modeled after a similar program in the STX district. 

But, these initiatives are not intended to give anyone a pass on their responsibility. No parent can shove off the responsibility of parenting on to our teachers, our police officers or the judges. 

My friends, we are reaping what was sown years ago. We cannot deny it and we cannot allow it to continue. No one living in the Virgin Islands is immune, and I believe the frustration of many is the desire of many to get more involved to solve this problem. Many have expressed a willingness, with good conscience, to lend a helping hand, the wish to turn towards the problem rather than walking away from these challenges. And this is true in government as well. 

Our police department has done a lot, and a lot more than ever before, to clean up their own house so they can reach out to our community for the assistance required with all having confidence in each other. Our prosecutors have had some recent successes and taken tougher stances in advancing cases and in getting convictions.

Recently some greater attention has been directed at what happens when a person is arrested and brought before a magistrate or judge. I do not wish for anyone to ignore that the constitutional rights of those accused of crimes are the same rights that protect us, too. But what happens in a court room in the Virgin Islands is not something that is beyond the scope of proper scrutiny. 

Our concerted actions must also extend to our courts, and what happens in courts must be part of a coordinated effort to make us all safer. With great respect for all the judges and magistrates of the Virgin Islands Superior Court, and with understanding that the criminal justice process is complex and imperfect, I have made it clear that I consider it – as I know they do, too – unacceptable whenever a crime is committed by a person who is out on pretrial release or awaiting sentencing, and especially so for those who are supposed to be under house arrest. 

Our courts can and must do more and do better. The doctrine of separation of powers, the accepted reality of the judiciary as a separate branch of government, does not and should not serve to divide and separate the branches of government from communicating and cooperating with each other.

I do not believe I am alone when I wonder how and why it is that we read far too often that a person has been arrested for a crime committed when he is out on release pending trial or sentencing on another earlier arrest and charge. Certainly the right to bail is constitutionally protected, but so too must our communities be protected. Everyday, our judges must do an extremely difficult job in balancing the rights of defendants with the public’s right to safety and security. I cannot tell them how to make those decisions; they are uniquely qualified public servants. 

But, when doing that job and making those hard decisions, they must consider that it undermines the best efforts of police to protect our citizens when people already arrested and awaiting trial on serious felony charges are allowed to be out on the streets, free to settle scores and terrorize neighborhoods in the process. It is time that house arrest is based more than just the honor system of the person charged to remain at home. It is time for us to require our marshals and probation officers to do what it takes to enforce release provisions and to give them whatever is needed by way of clarified authority and enhanced security so they can do this job, including doing regular and unannounced home visits on those who are subject to curfews, house arrest and special conditions.

Our magistrates and judges should never release someone who is re-arrested while out on pre-trial release or pre-sentencing release or on probation without a hearing on the question as to whether the court should revoke the earlier bail release or probation because the defendant has now committed some other crime in violation of the terms of the earlier release. This approach should apply to all bail releases irrespective of which magistrate or judge issued the original order. And in addition to this, I have also instructed the Attorney General to have his Assistant Attorneys General seek first the highest possible bail amounts and the strictest conditions on crimes involving guns, especially illegally possessed guns. 

However, we all know that no matter how much and how well our criminal justice system can be made to work, what we must also commit ourselves to is the task of reducing the number of our young people who enter the system. And to do that, we also all know, the key to any possible success, the crucial starting point, is education. And by this I do not mean just what is taught in our schools or even day care centers or nurseries. I mean the collective duty and responsibility of all of us to teach our children well, from the first and to the end. I mean teaching by words and actions. I mean remembering that we have no closer observers of our own behavior than our own children. 

From the time a child is old enough to walk, all in this community must be there to see that that child is walking down the right path. 

Children must have options for recreation after school, they must be encouraged and given the means to develop their minds, they must be taught to respect others, they must be taught to do what is right and to walk away from what is not. And, we who know right from wrong must never doubt what values our community holds dear, and what behavior is considered right and what is reprehensible. We must not make excuses or teach excuses. 

This past week, we hosted the annual conference of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police and kicked-off the Virgin Islands Anti-Gang Committee series of open forums intended to educate teachers, parents and the public about gang violence. What we have learned is that our problems and challenges are not isolated to the Virgin Islands, but also that we cannot deny them. By sharing ideas, we can all learn from each other how to become part of the solution.

We must join together -- we must speak loudly and clearly with one purpose. We must declare to all that we will no longer tolerate the behavior that results in violence and criminality. We know we can do this. We know we must do this. And we know that God is with us in this effort. 

May God bless you and these Virgin Islands.

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