Her Excellency the Governor, Mrs. Dileeni, Daniel-Selvaratnam. The Honorable Premier Mr. Charles Washington Misick, Speaker of the House, The Honorable Gordon Burton, Her Ladyship, the Chief Justice, The Honorable Mabel Agyuemang Her Excellency the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Anya Williams. The Honorable Deputy Premier, Mr. Jamell Robinson Minister of Tourism, the Honorable Josephine Connolly Minister of Home Affairs, the Honorable Otis Chuck Morris
Minister of Immigration and Border Services, the Honorable Arlington Musgrove
Minister of Education, the Honorable Rachel Taylor
Minister of Health and Human Services, the Honorable Shaun Malcolm
Minister of Public Safety and Utilities, the Honorable Kyle Knowles Attorney General, The Honorable Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles Leader of the Opposition, The Honorable Edwin Astwood Elected Members Representatives.
Permanent Secretaries and Executive Directors of the Civil Service
Members of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force Executive.
Specially invited guests
Members of the Media and persons listening and viewing at home and in the diaspora.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good Morning.
I wish to take this opportunity to extend condolences to the families and friends of Omarian Gardiner and Anlinco Lightbourne, who were killed over the weekend.
The first order of business is to thank God as he directs my path. I am grateful for his guidance and his blessings.
As the scripture says, and I quote, “To whom much is given, much will be required.”
I am also aware of another scripture quote: “Unless he keeps the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”
As I stand here before you, a humble servant, I remain conscious that God’s infinite guidance, power, and wisdom will direct our path in executing this tremendous mandate.
I must also thank the Government and people of TCI, specifically Her Excellency the Governor and the Honorable Premier, for having confidence in my ability to serve these beautiful by nature Turks and Caicos Islands.
I look forward to working collaboratively with police officers, stakeholders, and the National Security Council to improve safety and security for all.
Colleagues, at this moment, I can feel the enormity of the responsibility bestowed upon me and the weight of accountability and expectations of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force and the community we serve.
I also feel an unprecedented opportunity and distinguished privilege to serve the people of this beautiful nation by leading the police force into an era of modern policing and greater community engagement.
I accept this responsibility, cognizant of the dynamic, complex, diverse, and multidimensional nature of the local, regional, and global criminal landscape.
As your Commissioner of Police, I assure you of my unwavering commitment to serving this nation with pride and integrity. I commit to being a Commissioner for the people and doing everything within my power to safeguard our communities from the threats of criminal elements.
These threats include but are not limited to Transnational Organized Crime and its associated ills of illegal drugs, gang violence, and illegal firearms, which are causing havoc in our communities.
We are facing Immigration challenges, the potential for acts of terrorism, technical crimes such as cybersecurity attacks, and a plethora of domestic crimes.
I urge you not to despair; while those threats may be challenging, they are not insurmountable.
Defeating these threats requires a police force that is focused, well-trained, and adequately resourced to confront these challenges and deliver optimal law enforcement services….because the TCI deserves nothing less.
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force MUST retool and re-engineer its structure, methods, and approaches to prevent, respond to, and detect acts of criminality and those responsible.
It is understood that the community we serve demands greater efficiency and effectiveness from FORCE in ensuring community safety and security.
But we can’t do this alone. We need you. Your community needs you. The TCI needs you. I need you.
Commissioner of Police Edvin Martin
Your Police Force needs you to work with us “Side by Side” to help us better serve you, deter the criminal elements that threaten our safety and security, and create a safer community.
I acknowledge that our force’s true strength lies in its capability and arsenal and, more importantly, in its partnerships and collaborations to create safer and more resilient neighborhoods.
Fellow officers, please note that the public deserves an accountable police force, a police force that is PROFESSIONAL and responsive to the needs of its citizens.
One that is trusted and has the support of the people it serves.
In this context, as a service organisation, and with any such organisation, there will be allegations which cause the public to question our integrity.
As law enforcers, we must seek out and purge the organization of any semblance of BIAS, CORRUPTION, and MALFEASANCE.
It cannot be a case of doing as I say and not as I do.
Simultaneously, at the Executive level, we must address the issues that negatively impact morale and motivation – particularly ensuring fairness and impartiality in providing opportunities and ensuring the best candidates are promoted to ensure continuity and succession planning. Anything less will be an injustice to the organization and, by extension, the public.
Colleagues, we must do everything possible to inspire confidence in our police force and improve our legitimacy as gatekeepers of law and order.
To improve public trust and confidence, we will seek to create a force of COMPETENCE, PROFESSIONALISM, and INTEGRITY.
We will seek to establish an emotionally intelligent police force.
We will strive to have our officers versed in the application of the law and customer relations, discretion, and compassion while firm and decisive in responding to law violations.
My aim is for our officers, in the new dispensation, to relentlessly embrace and apply technological and scientific methods to pursue criminals who are causing fear of crime in our communities.
We are on our way to 21st-century policing.
In the line of duty, we encounter criminal elements who seem determined to cause harm and mayhem.
Our advice to you is to STOP NOW!!
There have been too many senseless, irrational, gut-wrenching killings and other acts of violence. The glaring disregard for human life and the safety of our communities is outrageous and unacceptable. It robs society of its human capital needed to foster growth and development.
Under my watch, I can assure you that the RTCIPF will not sit idly by and observe this unrelenting rampage and havoc within communities.
Today, I call on you to put down your weapons of destruction and change your criminal ways.
The eye for an eye mentality will eventually result in the whole society becoming blind, and you are hurting and destroying the same community you are a part of.
I am calling on officers, stakeholders, and community members to build a national coalition against criminality in all its forms.
Let us work together to flush this evil menace of violence from our midst.
Let us adopt an all-hands-on-deck approach. There should be no bystander in addressing this carnage in our communities.
I now take this opportunity to share a few intended actions the Force’s Executive will seek to progress in building safer communities.
1. We will work aggressively to address the spate of violent crimes. (TOC immigration and violence).
2. We will collaborate with stakeholders to address safety challenges in the Tourism industry. I understand how critical it is to our economy.
3. We will seek to redefine the police force’s image and, by extension, become the “Pride of TCI.”
4. We will foster greater technology integration into law enforcement. (Drones, bodycams, CCTV and links).
5. We will restructure better to serve our people’s current and future needs and achieve better alignment with contemporaries.
6. We will create a Transparent and Accountable Force.
7. We will expand community policing efforts while merging intelligence-led policing with problem-oriented policing into our strategic planning processes.
8. We will increase our collaboration with stakeholders and the community through frequent Town Hall Meetings.
9. We will focus more on meeting our officer’s needs, including safety at police stations.
10. We will aspire to have a well-trained, well-equipped, technologically advanced police force that can adequately address our community’s security needs.
Colleagues, it would be remiss of me not to recognize the efforts of the officers who have contributed immensely to community safety.
You may not be aware, but many officers remained on duty for days, sometimes weeks, often to the inconvenience of their families, in pursuit of solving serious crimes and protecting the community.
We will harness and sustain this dedication to duty to engender higher productivity.
Many thanks to Mr. Christopher Eyre and Deputy Commissioner of Police Mr. Rodney Adams for standing in the gap and doing extraordinary work to advance the missions of the RT&CIPF.
I want to take this opportunity to assure the RT&CIPF ranks and file that, as your Commissioner, I will seek opportunities to improve working conditions, provide training, leverage partnerships, and ensure you are well-resourced to do the job you have been entrusted with effectively.
In conclusion, I pledge that my team and I will meet with various organizations in the days and weeks ahead.
I will visit communities across the TCI to engage you in fostering our partnership. I look forward to hearing your concerns and suggestions during these visits and at our Town Hall meetings as we chart the way forward.
Colleagues, I will also visit every station and department across the Force to learn about your problems and challenges.
Let’s work tirelessly to create a safer and more just society.
Let us move forward with determination, integrity, and a commitment to excellence.
Thank You.