Today the Minister of National Security, the Hon. Renee Ming JP, MP, offered the following response in light of last night’s Police exercises, which involved a number of loud bangs that created public concern.
Minister Ming said, “It’s important to recognize that there’s heightened anxiety in our community for a number of reasons, most particularly being the fact that we are still navigating through a pandemic with additional local cases.
“This, coupled with recent activities of gun and knife violence – I can absolutely understand why the public concluded that last night’s Police training activity could have been associated with a response to anti-social behaviour.”
Minster Ming concluded, “I take the public safety concerns of our community very seriously. And I can confirm that I’ve communicated with the Police leadership that when they intend to hold such training exercises that will have a community impact, they must provide clear and ample notification to the public. This Government is keen to support the Police in their efforts to plan and prepare, however, we also expect that they have a level of empathy for the public during these challenging times.”