The following material is being published, unedited, exactly as it was received via e-mail from the office of the government official named below, as a Source community service. Government office holders wishing to contribute to the bulletin board must e-mail [email protected]. The Source reserves the right to choose what is published.
April 11, 2006 – Senator Neville James on Thursday sent correspondence to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull requesting he address the spiraling crime statistics and the perception of governmental abuse in and of the justice system.
Senator James said while lawmakers cannot pretend to invade the minds of potential criminals thus preventing crimes before they occur, they do have the ability to provide tangible resources to solve crimes and dispense proper justice to persons found guilty of crimes.
James called on the Governor to preserve his legacy by funding a crime lab, filling vacancies in the Inspector General's office and establishing a satellite Inspector General office on St. Croix.
Senator James wrote, "Unless there is the proverbial "smoking gun" the majority of the perpetrators of these acts of violence are never brought to justice. What is most disturbing to me is that neither I, nor the general public, can point to any sustained effort on the part of the government to equip the Police Department with the technological advances available today to solve crime. In fact, the general public views the seemingly lack of progress in solving crime as evidence of corruption in all levels of government."
The Senator asked the Governor to convene a meeting with the Senate body "to discuss and find solutions to address this full-blown criminal epidemic in a holistic manner."