VIPD’s Police Chiefs Warn Citizens of Rising Crime

The V.I. Police Department on Tuesday issued warnings about an increase in crimes, with the Chief of Police Steven Phillip of the St. Thomas-St. John-Water Island District warning of sexual abuse, particularly of minors, and Chief Sydney Elskoe of the St. Croix District warning of a recent rise in armed robberies. The warnings came in the form of a three-minute, 18-second audio recording issued by the VIPD Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking from St. Thomas, Phillip said the police have seen an increase in offenses by “those who find it acceptable to victimize members of our community, especially children.”

“Sexual violence is a serious problem that can have lasting, harmful effects on victims and their families and communities,” he said, calling on the community to continue to report sexual assaults they are aware of,” Phillip said.

He urged citizens to continue to report sexual assaults “being perpetrated on our children,” and said the department is going to begin publicizing descriptions of the perpetrators on social media and news releases.

The department’s news release also urged victims of sexual assault “to ensure your own safety, reach out for support, consider your medical options, process your experience, consider your legal options and reconnect to yourself and your life. There are support systems in place to help, and our victim-witness advocate can assist to connect you to those systems.”