ST. THOMAS — Governor Albert Bryan, Attorney General Denise George, and V.I.P.D. Commissioner Nominee Trevor Velinor will hold a joint press conference along with VI Fire Service Director Daryl George and Department of Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion on Thursday, where updates on recent public safety matters as well as the administration’s efforts to merge the Virgin Islands Emergency Medical Service with the Virgin Islands Fire Service will be divulged.
According to Government House, the press conference will be held at the Office of the Lieutenant Governor in St. Thomas at 10:00 a.m.
The press conference, announced last week, was originally set for this past Friday, but was rescheduled to Thursday “due to unforeseen travel and scheduling constraints.”
Nonetheless, it comes at a time when the administration may be compelled to unveil its strategy to fight violent crime. Just this weekend there were two shootings on St. Croix, one of which ended with a death, and the other with two individuals injured.
Last month, the V.I.P.D. provided crime statistics that showed homicides increasing year-over-year in the territory. According to the numbers, the territory saw 21 homicides for the year territory-wide, compared to 19 last year during the period of January-June. For both years between Jan.-June, St. Croix led the count with 12 homicides in 2018 compared to St. Thomas’s 7, and 12 homicides in 2019 compared to St. Thomas’s 9. St. John, during the same time period for both years had no homicides.