Opposition Leader Hon. Myron V. Walwyn has urged Virgin Islanders to stop protecting relatives and friends involved in crime, warning that shielding offenders denies them the accountability and help they need to change.
“Sometimes the people who are involved in criminal activity are our own family members and friends, and when we do not do the right thing and assist the police, we rob our own family and friends of the chance to be accountable and to get the desperate help that they need,” Walwyn said at the Virgin Islands Anti-Crime Summit 2025 on 24 September.
Hon. Walwyn said the Territory must shift focus from reacting to crime after it happens to preventing it before it begins, starting with confronting the social and economic pressures that drive young people toward criminal activity.
“I don’t believe people inherently want to get into a life of crime if there can be other opportunities for them to make a living,” he said. “We have to show them that going in that direction is not the direction to go, because there are so many other opportunities and avenues available.”
He urged the government to address poverty, unemployment, lack of opportunity, mental health issues and substance abuse, describing them as key drivers of violence and lawlessness.
Hon. Walwyn also called for a comprehensive crime reduction strategy with clear short-, medium- and long-term actions, warning that the summit should not end as a “talk shop.”
“Let us not come here over the next two, three days, talk, sound good, say all the nice things, and then go back and absolutely nothing happens,” he said. “We need to know what we are going to do immediately, in the medium term and in the long term to address the issues of crime.”
The opposition leader said crime prevention must involve every sector of society, including government, opposition, businesses, schools, civic groups and families. “It will take all of us,” he said. “Government, opposition, civic society, persons who own businesses, corporate responsibility, the schools — all of us, very important that we do it together.”
Drawing from his own school experience, Hon. Walwyn warned that early warning signs often appear in classrooms. “School is a training ground for life,” he said. “If you cannot follow the simple rules in the classroom, you will have grave difficulties following the rules of life when you get out here. It is better to be able to correct a child than have to remake an adult.”
Hon. Walwyn said the Virgin Islands must act now to preserve its reputation as a safe and peaceful place. “We must make sure that our home remains the safe, tranquil and peaceful place we know it to be,” he said.
