BVI needs proper detention centre — Assistant Commissioner of Police
In the wake of yet another escape by a detainee from a temporary facility that acts as the government’s immigration detention centre, a senior police officer is calling for a new facility to be established.
Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police St Clair Amory argued that the BVI needs a suitable facility to prevent those frequent occurrences from happening.
“I think what has happened over time is that, there’s a need for a proper detention centre and I think that of itself is what is actually contributing to persons being able to escape,“ Amory said on the Talking Points radio show this week.
He added that as soon as this can be put in place, it minimises the opportunity for all the persons to escape.
Amory explained that persons are detained based on the fact that they are smuggled into the territory. They become detainees of the Immigration Department until they are actually repatriated to their respective countries.
But he said he can’t blame the Immigration Department or anyone else for the escape of persons in those instances.
“You have to understand something, too, despite the fact that you may have security, when that person would’ve left from wherever they came from and smuggled across here, what was their intention?” Amory asked.
“Even though you have the person detained, any little opportunity that person gets, they are going to try and get away; sometimes maybe at any cost,” he added.
The Immigration Department has repeatedly issued bulletins over the last few years for detainees that have escaped the Hotel Castle Maria facility, even as it is guarded by security officers. While some of the detainees have been recaptured, others continue to elude the clutches of law enforcement.
Earlier this year, former Premier Andrew Fahie described the recurring issue of escaping immigration detainees as a national security issue.
In the meantime, former Immigration Minister Vincent Wheatley said at the time that he could only speculate on the reasons for the frequent escapes.
“Apart from maybe their regular customers, we may have 30-something persons in there with various conditions. I imagine it’s a security challenge for police officers or the security companies to be able to manage. I cannot say why they’re escaping,” Wheatley stated at the time.
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This is amazing! Only realise this after about 20 escapes or so?
Sounds about right,but they too busy fighting over parking space LOL set a j@ck@$$
the past governors have failed the bvi when it comes to security. and it seems this present governor is going to be added .take a look at the main police station in this British Virgin Islands and you don’t have to look any further to see that who is incharge of security has failed badly and the governors are the head of security. not only the condition of the Road Town police station is in deplorable condition and we would like to blame the officers for that and it shouldn’t be because the station is presently over crowded. God forbid a fire breaks out it would be mayhem. the calling for a detention center is a call that was made from the early nineties this is not new.the governors just do not care and they will not take responsibility for their failure. never. besides a few offices that had recently been remodeled to look presentable to the public the main building has lost its usefulness. a modern main police station needs to be built with urgency Mr governor. a suitable plot of land is needed to carry out such venture. the main artery of responsible for security is a disaster waiting to happen. it only take a group of a few brace men and women with bad intentions to make the security of this small island fall to its knees or until the British step in.security in itself is a nightmare at the road town police station and anyone that knows anything about security knows what I am talking about. look at the condition of the the marine base my gosh it’s deplorable. thank God the bvi residents are so far law abiding citizens. the past governors were only here on vacation,they never take their job seriously. And they are not held responsible everything is the black man.well the black man is not incharge of security here in the bvi.the governors have failed us just like all the politicians. we need an investigation into past and present governors it is time.security on this island is the worst in the eastern Caribbean and this is a fact.mr governor even the prison is in shambles and what are you doing .a prison that was only built a few yrs ago has already served its usefulness. every responsibility that falls under the governors is being neglected. get rid of them to.
That’s not a priority. We have more pressing things before that…We need a proper government building to centralise govt offices and have most of them under one roof easily accessible get things done faster instead of having them spread out all over the place,,and cut back on the million in rent that money we can use to pay for that same govt building
Why he dont ask the UK to build it?
Long overdue!
We have a prison, put them there. End of problem.
it’s always the UK , the governor , or someone else , when are you going to see and talk honestly about what is really going on here / we cannot build a future here on LIES / DECEPTION / CORRUPTION / GUNS / DRUGS AND MURDER ETC ? . we are encouraging a new breed of culture of those who think they are ENTITLED , and mind you , you REAP WHAT YOU SOW .was it the governor they caught in that boat chase , a couple of days ago ❓ ❓ ❓ ? ( but then again you won’t know anything about that because you cannot see straight ?
A detention centre was built at Balsum, but it has been repurposed to hold prisoners.
of the various religious congregations in the BVI is deafening in regard to human smuggling. Maybe each church should be forced to ‘adopt an illegal’ until he/she is deported back to their country of origin? Of course the more outspoken the pastor then the more ‘adoptions’ that congregation will have to absorb.
Virgin Islands immigration law in its supplementary legislation is specific on places to be used for detention purposes for the Immigration and Passport Act.ALL Police stations in the Territory and the Prison. Say no more.
A detention building within prison security is a good idea (provides secure bed and food , saves the housing costs and is discouraging!)
Build 4 cells at the airport and get these people on the next available flight out, as it should be!!!
Thanks for your comment about the detention centre. Thanks to the past Chief Immigration Officer who had one built at Balsam Ghut years ago. What happened to it though? It is used to house women and young people. Ask the Governor to give it back to the Immigration Dept.
Ask the Governor. He knows. If I know he must know. A past Governor took it from them. Did he pay for it? Do they intend to pay?
So if there’s lack of cells to hold the prisoners and you take back the detention centre to house the detainees then you’ll end up in the same situation housing prisoners at 1 of those facility like what they’re doing now.the prison as it is does be overcrowded at times and sometimes they will have to hold them at the police station cells until space is free up at the prison so we definitely need a new detention centre build.