ST. CROIX — With an increase in gun violence being perpetrated over the\u00a0weekend, Senator Kenneth L. Gittens, vice-chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security,\u00a0Justice and Public Safety, said while he is decrying the violent crimes and condemning those\u00a0perpetrating the acts, he remains relentless in his quest to see a unified law enforcement front\u00a0against the criminal element in our community.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost on a daily basis we have been hearing of residents in our community falling victim to\u00a0some sort of violent crime. In this past weekend alone, we have heard of multiple shootings and\u00a0a home invasion. What makes these lawless acts of violence even more alarming to me is that\u00a0in most of the incidents, the perpetrators remain at large and most likely will continue to prey\u00a0on the unsuspecting residents and visitors in our community,\u201d Senator Gittens said.<\/p>\n
Gittens said he is still calling for a unified law enforcement front to confront\u00a0and disarm the handful of lawless individuals. He said these persons show a total disregard for\u00a0human life and are crippling the social environment and our economy because residents are\u00a0not even feeling safe in their own homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been calling for collaboration between the local and federal entities and local\u00a0supplemental manpower for the Virgin Islands Police Department for some time now. I don\u2019t\u00a0know what else it is going to take to get the administration to move swiftly to get more boots\u00a0on the ground and heighten the law enforcement presence in our community. The police cannot\u00a0see all or do all, but having supplemental assistance from other agencies can certainly augment\u00a0the stressed resources within the Virgin Islands Police Department,\u201d the senator said.<\/p>\n
There has been a lull in traffic initiatives and routine vehicular stops that have been proven to\u00a0work as effective crime-fighting tools, according to Senator Gittens. \u201cWithout traffic initiatives\u00a0and routine traffic stops, these criminals are free to drive vehicles from one end of the island to\u00a0the next without a high probability of being intercepted by police. These stops could net illegal\u00a0firearms and even prevent some of these crimes.”<\/p>\n
The senator said he is encouraging heads of agencies with law enforcement arms to step up to\u00a0the plate and express their willingness to be a part of the joint initiative and a part of bringing\u00a0back the atmosphere of peace to the community. Senator Gittens also encourages residents to\u00a0continue being the eyes and ears of the police and share information on crimes they may know about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ST. CROIX — With an increase in gun violence being perpetrated over the\u00a0weekend, Senator Kenneth L. Gittens, vice-chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security,\u00a0Justice and Public Safety, said while he is decrying the violent crimes and condemning those\u00a0perpetrating the acts, he remains relentless in his quest to see a unified law enforcement front\u00a0against the criminal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[228,147],"tags":[995,2615,2616],"yoast_head":"\n