Anti-gang task force now meeting monthly
Details of Government’s anti-gang strategy were delivered in the Senate by Junior Public Safety Minister Jeff Baron.However, certain details were “extremely sensitive”, and couldn’t be shared in the Upper House.He told senators he’d been appointed chairman of the inter-agency task force, which oversees gang-fighting initiatives.Formed under the previous government, the group is “essentially the strategic arm of the Ceasefire or gang violence reduction strategy, and is composed of various high level members of Government, and various pillars such as Corrections and Family Services”.The task force is now meeting on a monthly, rather than quarterly basis, Senator Baron added.Another group tasked with “socially driven crime reduction” is chaired by Martha Dismont — of the charity Family Centre — and Kimberley Jackson, of the Mirrors programme.The One Bermuda Alliance has allocated $71 million to the Bermuda Police Service, aiming to boost its complement to 450 staff.Referencing the OBA’s pledge to create 2,000 new jobs, Sen Baron said: “That’s 1,900 jobs to go.”