A remand centre on Providenciales and a juvenile detention facility, with its intended location not yet divulged, are among a raft of priority infrastructural measures that the Turks and Caicos Islands National Security Council (NSC) decided upon at its Tuesday, September 7 meeting.
The Governor, His Excellency Nigel Dakin, and Premier, Hon. Charles Washington Misick-co-chair body also decided to construct a new immigration detention Centre, which is to share the same premises as the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) Marine Branch.
The NSC also endeavors to construct a multi-agency law enforcement training academy, home for the recently commissioned TCI Regiment, in addition to the sourcing of a mobile police station, which can be set up in communities should the need arise.
There has been a protracted call for a detention centre to be constructed on Providenciales for accused criminals who have been ordered to be remanded by the court. This, the advocates argue, would stem the need for the remanded to be flown to Her Majesty’s Prison in Grand Turk, where they would be holed up until the commencement of their case.
Also, there have been calls for the construction of a juvenile centre, since teens on remand and/or after sentencing, sometimes share cells at Her Majesty’s Prison with adults, some of them hardened criminals.
The call was for such a facility to be constructed on Providenciales. It is not clear on which island within the archipelago the authorities would prefer to set it up.
Listing these projects as priority means that they would be at the top of the list at the next round of government infrastructure rollout.
The announcement of these projects came via government release on Monday.
“The NSC discussed and agreed the need to deliver a significant enhancement to the infrastructure supporting: national security, law enforcement and those in correctional institutions.
“ As a result, and using the national security strategy to help prioritise, the NSC agreed year-on-year requirements to build or upgrade: “a remand centre in Providenciales; a home for the TCI Regiment; a multi-agency Law Enforcement Training Academy; a Juvenile Detention Facility; a new Immigration Detention Centre co-located with a RTCIPF Marine Base and Marine Command and Control Centre; and the colocation of the Police’s operational divisions while investing in mobile Police Stations than could be deployed into communities, as needed,” the release said in part.
The news release stated further that, after receiving a presentation from the Department of Road Safety, the government would be moving to digitize and centralize that system, while also looking at improving the customer service at that department.
“The requirement to now digitise and upgrade all functions linked to the application and issue of driving license and number plates was agreed to both improve the customer experience while enhancing the ability to police and make safe the roads,” the release continued.
Deputy Premier Hon. E. Jay Saunders, the first Health Minister under the current Washington Misick Administration, was strategically moved to the Ministry of Finance. One of his many aims is to digitize government, making it easier to access and do business.
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