Governor Albert Bryan, Jr. Photo Credit: Reemy-Reemz Photography
Law enforcement personnel from across the V.I. executive branch agencies are stepping up high-visibility activities during the holiday season, Gov. Albert Bryan announced on Monday.
The governor signed an executive order deputizing the territory’s peace officers to serve in law enforcement functions between December 15th 2019, and January 15th, 2020. The order authorizes Police Commissioner Trevor Velinor to reassign to police activities half or more of officers that work for the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, Office of the Attorney General, the Taxi Cab Commission, Waste Management Agency, the V.I. Port Authority and the V.I. Lottery.
Mr. Bryan said the move is another step to ensure a safe holiday season for Virgin Islanders and visitors. “We all know there's going to be a lot of events going on during the holiday season, especially on the island of St. Croix where we expect the festival activities to kick off the day after Christmas,” Gov. Bryan said Monday during the weekly Government House press conference on St. Thomas.
An uptick in traffic accidents also prompted the administration to put more V.I. police on traffic patrols. “We have been having a lot of traffic accidents. … So we plan to step up our efforts on the traffic side too. We encourage people not to drink and drive and to remain safe on the roadways for this season.”
The government agencies providing for additional law enforcement activities will bear the labor costs, Mr. Bryan said.
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