VIPD Commissioner Nominee Trevor Velinor’s nomination was supposed to be among names forwarded to Governor Albert Bryan following a Senate session last Monday. But lawmakers decided to remove Mr. Velinor’s name from the agenda after he failed to attend the session, where senators had sought answers to questions related to an escalation of violent crime since Mr. Velinor’s last appearance at the Senate.
The commissioner nominee, who revealed to the Consortium during a Sunday interview that he had traveled outside the U.S. Virgin Islands three times since being nominated by Governor Albert Bryan, was intent on putting residents’ and lawmakers’ concerns to rest about his dedication to the job.
“I’ve left the territory on three occasions. One occasion was I left the territory to attend the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) Conference. I sat on the national board as a federal representative, so I was over all federal law enforcement officers and agents within the NOBLE organization,” Mr. Velinor said. He said his goal at the event was to advocate for the Virgin Islands Police Department, a mission the commissioner nominee said was performed “very effectively.”
“My second trip was a trip to a Black Agents and Professional Law Enforcement Association, of which I was a founder of that organization where we had some key factors that we were working on. Unfortunately, while heading to that trip, I had a significant family emergency,” Mr. Velinor made known.
“Third trip was a vacation that had been planned for multiple years, and so myself, my family along with 45 or so other individuals were going on this vacation,” he revealed.
Mr. Velinor said he learned of the hearing the day after he returned from the long planned family vacation. “However, on that following morning, Sept. 16, I had multiple pre-planned medical appointments that I attended, so I could not be here for my hearing. I learned of the hearing the day before, and quite candidly, I probably couldn’t have even canceled my trip that was planned for multiple years. There were many people who were invited and family members and so forth,” he said.
“But having said that, I am no less committed to the Virgin Islands Police Department than I was to ATF. Meaning this: I am absolutely committed to fighting crime. I’m absolutely committed to building our organization. I am absolutely committed to public safety throughout the United States Virgin Islands,” Mr. Velinor assured. “I believe the United States Virgin Islands, seen by many as America’s paradise, we need to get back to where it needs to be.”
Mr. Velinor’s plan to fight crime includes creating a list of the territory’s most violent offenders and targeting those individuals with VIPD intelligence along with information provided by the community.
He has also ordered that tints be removed from most police vehicles. “If you are a police officer, people got to see you,” Mr. Velinor said during the interview. The idea is to foster a better relationship between community members and the police force, an effort which, if realized, Mr. Velinor said could produce lasting results in the force’s effort to gain public trust which could in turn result in more effective leads.
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