Office to Prevent Gun Violence Highlights Progress Despite Rising Homicide Numbers

Two years after it officially became operational, the leadership of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention said Monday that it, along with the VI Police Department, has made steady strides in reducing homicides and other violent crimes.

This was the statement of Office director Antonio Emmanuel, despite the constant flow of news about shootings in the community, with 37 homicides recorded so far for 2024.

Delivering an update before the Committee on Government Operations, Veterans Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mr. Emanuel reminded the committee that the office aims to be “an outreach agency focused on coordinating efforts that keep our youth safe, free and alive.” therefore, he argued, most of his efforts were consistent with that mandate. The Office to Prevent Gun Violence said it continues to treat gun violence as a “health epidemic,” stating that the office “does not have the responsibility or capacity to enforce law.”

The office’s six team members continue to implement strategies that “help prevent some of the violence that occurs in our communities,” according to Mr. Emanuel. This includes working collaboratively with government departments, including the Department of Education, VIPD, non-profit organizations, faith-based groups and private businesses. He told the committee their teamwork had led to a significant decrease in homicides since 2019.

To target impressionable young people, the Office continues to work with the Department of Education on “anti-violence and anti-bullying focused presentations” which more than 5,000 students have received. VIDE connected the Office with “high-risk students,” and the team then held “intensive and direct conversations to help change their mindset by equipping them with tools to help them self-regulate their personal behavior, avoid conflict, and improve their communication skills.”

An after-school program also complements this work, as the office works with eighty young Virgin Islanders from two public housing communities. “Of the approximately 80 youth we serve, only four find themselves involved in incidents that require the attention of law enforcement,” Mr. Emanuel said. Outside of immediate youth involvement, the Office’s violence responders work in the community. Mr. Emanuel testified that one person in particular “intervened in more than 15 incidents where serious conflict and death were imminent.”

The focus on promoting peace during festivals in the region is evident in St. This led to no murders during the St. Thomas Carnival for the first time in three years, he said. Mr. Emanuel, St. Croix reported that 2023 was the second year in which there were no homicides during the Christmas festival during the same time period.

The update was welcomed by the committee chair, Senator Carla Joseph, who encouraged Mr. Emanuel and his team to continue the collaborative approach to crime prevention. “We operate in our own silos,” he lamented.

The need for cooperation was indeed highlighted in Mr. Emanuel’s testimony. He was keenly aware of the data suggesting that “areas that experience significant declines in crime generally increase slowly.” The recent increase in suicides and murders has the office of great concern, but Mr. Emanuel is adamant that “we still have more to improve and more people to reach.”

Mr. Emanuel said the collaborative approach Ms. Joseph called for could be hampered by increased funding needs. “There has to be an all-hands-on-deck approach,” he said, calling for government support for nonprofits trying to do similar work to prevent crime.

Mr. Emanuel noted that crime is influenced by many factors. “We have problems in schools, we have problems with people not working, people claiming they have to rob someone to get food on their table,” Mr. Emanuel stated. “Such systemic problems go far beyond this. It requires effort to fix this with the stroke of a pen or to pass a law. We did not get here overnight,” he said.

According to the director, the office’s strategy to reach young people is guided by long-term thinking. Mr. Emanuel said he talked to young men about conflicts, about those who intervened in the violence, and that it was necessary to “show them that killing someone because they owe you money or stole your drugs is absolutely not the way to resolve the conflict.”

He pledged his determination to continue the work of his office, even though it was “somewhat thinly spread out” with just six staff in the entire district.