Britain assists Cops with Crime Fighting

The United Kingdom is playing its part in helping to ensure that its borders are kept safe from drugs and organised crime. And they are not leaving anything to chance in order to achieve a safe corridor. {{more}}

Even though St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and in fact the Caribbean, may be a long way from the United Kingdom, there are common reasons for ensuring that law and order is maintained across the miles.

British High Commissioner to the Eastern Caribbean and Barbados, Duncan Taylor highlighted the situation last Wednesday.

For him, “The area of security and enforcement of law and order is one which is a very high priority for us.”

He highlighted his efforts over the past four years as High Commissioner in “SVG and in the other countries of the Eastern Caribbean to try to control law and order.”

As far as Taylor was concerned, “It’s a relationship that works very well. We have a lot of expertise and a lot of experience in the UK.”

Taylor did not hide the fact that the Caribbean is of special interest to his country.

“This area of security is one where we have direct interest to the UK, particularly in interrupting and stopping the transit of drugs through the Eastern Caribbean which might end up in the UK, and in interrupting and ideally stopping the organised crime that accompanies the transit of drugs.”

Justifying the donation, Taylor pointed out: “It is very important for St Vincent and the Grenadines also to tackle the transit of drugs even if the final destination for many of the drugs that transit this part of the world is actually in Western Europe and in the UK or in the USA.”

“There is a shared responsibility for tackling that and a shared interest and a shared objective,” Taylor added.

Taylor summed up his feelings in a succinct fashion:

“You don’t want to see organised crime developing in St Vincent and the Grenadines anymore than we do, and if we don’t fight the drug traffickers then that’s what will happen,” he went on.

He was happy with the “very strong level of cooperation in the area of law and order, in fighting drugs but also in cracking down on crime.”

Taylor acknowledged that fighting the drug trade was a difficult exercise.

“ The work of people trying to interdict drugs shipment and transit of drugs is very dangerous work” he added.

But he was happy to donate the crime fighting equipment.

“We are delighted to be able to offer a vehicle and some ballistic vests (bullet proof vests) to assist the officers in the carrying out of those dangerous duties,” Taylor declared.

The British High Commissioner is not planning to abandon the mission and alluded to working along with Vincentian Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.

“We will continue to work together in this area. We are regularly in touch with PM Gonsalves. We have agreed that this a shared priority for both of countries to tackle crime and keep control of law and order,” Taylor stated.

For him, maintenance of law and order was extremely important, “because unless you have security, unless you have a good situation with regard to law and order, it’s impossible really to tackle effectively the other challenges and issues which face the government whether it’s social development, education, medicine.”