The United Kingdom is sending three detectives to Anguilla to support the local force in the wake of escalating gun crime.
Speaking on Radio Anguilla on Monday, 22 July, Robert Clark, police commissioner in the Royal Anguilla Police Service, said the additional resources will be on their way soon.
He said he asked for more support from the UK this past weekend and was told that as well as the detectives he will receive an “uplift” in armed support.
As a result, Clark said he will try to get the number of armed officers “back up to 12 again”.
The police chief was also offered digital forensics support and said: “I hope that that will help us move forward with the investigations more quickly.”
He added: “I hope that that will help people on the island see that the Royal Anguilla Police Service, when we feel we need help, we can reach out and we can get that help.”
Four men have died in separate shooting incidents this past month.
In the latest incident, a 33-year-old man from Bad Cox Pond was shot and killed outside the Anguilla Courthouse on the morning of 19 July.
Clark said the murder sent “shockwaves” through the island and has created a lot of fear both in Anguilla and further afield.
“I’m already picking up some stuff on Facebook, of tourists who are due to come [to Anguilla] saying: ‘Will I come? Will I not come? Is it safe to come? What’s happening?’
“So that shows the impact of what is occurring more widely and that’s really worrying.”
Anyone with information on this or any other incident can call 911, (264) 497-2333 or 497-5333, or leave a message on the confidential website at www.gov.ai/911
Information from that website is stored in a secure location off island and access to it is tightly controlled.
