Crime

Bill Permitting VI Police Officers to Stop and Frisk Virgin Islanders Held in Committee

The territory’s law enforcement community cheered the intent of lawmakers who proposed a specific “stop-and-frisk” policy for peace officers, but questioned whether the bill was necessary, which led to the measure being held in committee. The stop-and-frisk measure would codify existing law regarding police stops, the legal concepts of reasonable suspicion and probable cause, and Constitutional protections against illegal searches and detention, said Quincy McRae, the chief of Criminal Division for the V.I. Department of Justice in the St. Thomas-St. John District. “Nothing new or unique would be added by adopting Bill No. 33- 0075,” Mr. McRae told members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, Justice, Public Safety and Veterans Affairs. The committee, chaired by Sen. Steven D. Payne Sr., took testimony on the Bill No. 33-0075 during a hearing the Capitol Building in St. Thomas on Monday.  As written, the measure “treads precariously” on the Fourth Amendment rights guarantee...