With the territory now tallying 32 homicides for the year, the tragic events that unfolded over the weekend — with five killed on St. Thomas in back-to-back shooting incidents running from Friday to Sunday evening — just underscored the need for an increased police presence and a zero-tolerance policy on crime, officials said Tuesday.
After laying the groundwork Monday, with police top brass following a meeting at Government House with a public press conference that put out a call for more community involvement, Gov. John deJongh Jr. said he would soon be sitting down with the government’s legal minds — including local judges — to keep suspects out on bail from committing more crimes.
"As I said yesterday, we will continue to work against those individuals who are involved in these acts of retaliation and street justice," deJongh said during another press conference held at Government House Tuesday. "These violent individuals, some of whom are out on bail, some of whom are outfitted with electric monitors, are concerns that I intend to address with the Judiciary when I sit down with them, my attorney general and the commissioner of police."
After Tuesday’s press conference, Police Commissioner Novelle Francis said the department’s first line of defense at this point is "high visibility," or saturating the streets with officers to patrol high-crime areas at peak hours during the day.
Recent traffic stops have helped net scores of weapons, but they also need to be stepped up, Francis added.
"We’re looking for any probable cause that would allow us to do a more intrusive search of these vehicles," he said. "Unfortunately, it seems like every other car has a firearm in it, so that concerns us."
The goal of what Francis described as more "intrusive" stops is to get people to at least leave their guns at home, so they’re not available for shootouts on the streets.
Meanwhile, police are also working with the heads of other departments and agencies — such as Licensing and Consumer Affairs — to target hot spots, or areas of frequent criminal activity.
"We’ve realized there are contributing elements to this crime, such as nearby bar activities, vendors and poor lighting," Francis said, adding that overgrown trees and bushes also provide a convenient cover for illicit activities. "We’ll be working with other government agencies to clean up these areas and help give our officers a better view of what’s going on."
Nightclubs, convenience stores and gas stations where people may congregate or loiter are also included in the crackdown, and officers have already been stationed outside a few to keep an eye on what’s going on, Francis said.
He added that even the officers are under scrutiny, and will also be watched to make sure they’re doing their jobs.
"Even if we have to ask the assistance of the Legislature in helping us deal with some of these establishments, we will," Francis said. "We’re going for crime prevention by environmental design."
