Governor Daniel Pruce on Wednesday night urged leaders, agencies and the wider community to turn discussions at the Virgin Islands Anti-Crime Summit 2025 into concrete action, saying the event’s success would be measured by the commitments made and followed through after it ends.

“There’s got to be action that comes after this,” Pruce told attendees during the opening session of the summit, held under the theme “Our Virgin Islands: Safe Communities, Prosperous Territory.” “We need all of us, myself included, to make very firm and clear and concrete commitments — a personal pledge, a departmental pledge, a collective pledge. That, I think, is the real test of the success of this summit and the discussions that we’ll have. It’s what comes afterwards.”

Pruce said tackling crime requires more than security measures and policing. While he acknowledged his responsibility for security, including oversight of the police and shared responsibility for the prison, he stressed that broader collaboration is essential. “Security has got to be part of the answer, but it’s a part of the answer,” he said. “All these other interventions — which communities can work together on, which ministries can engage in, which NGOs can help support — they are also part of the answer.”

He called for broad engagement across government and society to address crime’s causes and solutions. “We have a great opportunity over the coming days to have a very broad conversation about crime … with the full breadth of government and also reaching beyond government,” Pruce said. “Anyone who wants to be in this room can be part of the conversation.”

The Governor also emphasised listening as a foundation for progress, encouraging participants to share experiences and learn from differing viewpoints. “Of course, I’ve come to talk, but above all, I’ve come to listen,” he said. “Where there are points of view which diverge, where there are things perhaps we disagree on, we can all make that commitment to listen to each other and to seek to understand each other’s points of view.”

Pruce praised the summit’s organisation, the speakers lined up for the two days of discussions and the sense of shared commitment among participants. He expressed confidence the event would help shape a united and practical response to crime in the Territory.