St. Croix Town Hall Tackles Crime Concerns, Community Solutions, and Law Enforcement Gaps

On Tuesday, St. Croix residents gathered in Frederiksted for a frank and open discourse with law enforcement and government officials on the state of crime on the Big Island. The wide-ranging discussion covered a number of topics, including approaches to crime prevention, challenges with obtaining witness testimony, traffic enforcement, and community involvement. The town hall meeting was convened by local PBS affiliate WTJX, in conjunction with the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, Justice and Public Safety. Police Commissioner Mario Brooks noted that the overwhelming majority of crime in the territory is being perpetrated by a minuscule fraction of the population. “It's like two to three percent of our community that's doing this nonsense consistently,” he said, exhorting community members to refuse to accommodate lawlessness within their ranks.  Mr. Brooks recounted his mother imposing a strict curfew on him as a child, and said “we have to get back to that as a community,” t...