Governor responds to redaction uproar over law enforcement report

Governor Daniel Pruce rebuffed claims that a recent law enforcement and security review should have been redacted, arguing that it was standard practice for such reports to be published and that much thought went into its release.

Numerous complaints emerged from lawmakers when the report was brought before the House of Assembly, with some elected officials contending that it should never have been made public and was a security risk for the territory.

The report proposed 138 recommendations for enhancing law enforcement in the islands, and Governor Pruce commended the report’s thoroughness.

Commenting on the highly controversial report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), Governor Pruce stated: “We went through a very careful process of consultation with all the agencies that were involved in the compilation of the review to ensure that nothing contained in the published version would compromise their ability to operate.”

“There’s obviously no interest at all in hindering agencies’ abilities to go about their normal business. We didn’t want to create any risks to any activity or any personnel,” Pruce said.

Governor Pruce pointed out that sharing drafts of the document with relevant agencies making sensible judgments helped safeguard against any risks. “I should say, it’s standard practice with these reports conducted by HMIC for them to be published,” he added.

According to Governor Pruce, HMICFRS engaged in a comprehensive and deep process, talking to the full range of agencies that are active in the law enforcement landscape. “It’s not just the police. It’s police, Customs, Immigration, Prisons — the whole gamut of the justice system as well,” he stated.

“It’s a very thorough and deep piece of work,” he added. “It sets out in a lot of detail, areas which in the view of those that conducted the report need to be subject to attention and intervention and action on the part of the whole of us involved in law enforcement here in the Virgin Islands.”