The British Virgin Islands will hold its long-promised crime summit in the third quarter of 2025, Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley confirmed during a press conference last week.
Addressing reporters, Dr Wheatley said, “Yeah, that’s currently being planned. In fact, when I go to National Security Council, the Cabinet Secretary is going to give an update on the plans for the crime summit.”
He added, “It’s actively being planned and I believe they’ll present some options for specific dates. It’s going to be sometime in the third quarter, but we’ll have a specific date very soon.”
According to the Premier, security was a major focus at the recent CARICOM Heads of Government meeting held in Jamaica, which he attended. He noted that security was “a kind of hallmark” of Jamaican Prime Minister, Andrew Holness’ chairmanship.”
“I walked away from Jamaica with plans to be able to see how we can increase cooperation on security,” Dr Wheatley explained. “They had lots of technical expertise in the area, and I believe that we can benefit from that.”
The summit announcement comes amid ongoing public concerns about crime in the territory. In March, the BVI experienced a spike in gun violence and burglaries, prompting calls from both residents and lawmakers for urgent action.
The Premier’s latest update also linked the summit’s timing to ongoing meetings of the National Security Council.
“That’s going to be one of the points I’ll be making in national security,” Dr Wheatley stated. “How can we increase cooperation and benefit from the capacity that exists in Jamaica?”
Premier Wheatley further stressed that tackling crime and improving security require regional partnerships.
“CARICOM is a power in the region,” he asserted. “We actually go to the meetings and you see CARICOM meeting with the Secretary of State of the United States government, or meeting with the President of Brazil… you don’t realise how much diplomatic weight CARICOM carries.”
Will they be attending which side of the table will they be picking to sit or both as usual!
Hopefully you’ll be discussing the Bank of Asia theft of 5 million from the people’s purse, in your ‘summit’.
But who is going to pay for it Mr Premier. The BVI government has a history of not funding the RVIPF properly and then blaming the Governors Office for any short comings.
Don’t need a summit to get tint off windows.
Just need to take the tint off.
Why these people hiding? Drug, guns? Shy?
Let’s start with Government vehicles.
Premier makes things look so hard..stopping anything illegal from entering the territories border first is of great significance and then do a systemical clean up before you call a crime summit Sir. You definitely cannot bring a pony to a horse race and you have proved it over and over again.