National Security Minister: Crime & Gangs

April 5, 2011

Newly appointed Minister of National Security Wayne Perinchief said he only found out about his appointment 24 hours prior, and jumped right in speaking with Bernews after he was sworn in yesterday about guns, gangs, and crime in general.

Minister Perinchief takes over from former Minister David Burch who resigned this past weekend. While appearing on ZBM’s Let’s Talk program last night [Apr.4] the Premier said after the last shooting [on Thurs, March 31] she wanted to meet with the Commissioner of Police to get a ”first hand” feel for what is happening. She said that after she met with the Commissioner of Police, Colonel Burch sent her an email after “he was concerned that I met with the Commissioner, and I think he felt that I lack confidence in him.”

Minister Perinchief brings extensive Policing experience to the portfolio, having served in the Bermuda Police Force from 1964-1995, rising to the rank of Assistant Commissioner.

In the Bermuda Police Service, he undertook several police courses including (1969-1974) Basic Police Training-Driving Marine Courses; (1974) West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police College (General Police Duties); (1977) Outward Bound Instructors Course; (31/08/1982) Police College Canada( Hostage Negotiators Course); (1984) FBI National Academy Quantico; (26/12/86) Fire Investigators Course- Canada; (1988) Command Course- Bramshill Police College (U.K.); and (1991) Ontario Police College (Advanced Homicide Investigation).

In 1982 he received the Colonial Police medal for Long Service and Good Conduct. In 1991 he earned the Colonial Police Medal for Meritorious Service. He retired from Police Force in 1995 and three years later, in 1998, he was elected to Parliament where he serves as the representative for Pembroke Central Constituency 17.

Minister Perinchief has previously served as Minister of National Drug Control and Cultural Affairs. He was appointed to post of Deputy Speaker of Parliament in 2011. He has been Chairman of the Road Safety Council since 2011 and Chairman of Parole Board since 2011.

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Comments (17)

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  1. Mad Prophet says:

    Hail to the Chief!

    Some people in high and low places didn’t sleep very well last night.

    Bermuda needs public floggings.

    Yes take some of these young men that are guilty of gun crimes up to St George’s Square, put them in the rack and give them 10 slashes with the cat with nine tails.

    • The mon says:

      ooooooooooooooh man no joke that is a great Idea GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRReat Idea.

      • News Flash says:

        Good bye drama queen. Hello normal person. The Premier is feeling better!!

  2. So that"s WHY!! says:

    So that’s why he stepped down. Dam skippy I would have done the same thing.

    Premier how are you going to meet with the Commissioner of Police and his boys and not include Colonel Burch in the same meeting. That’s like past Premier Brown meeting with your Finance Department asking for more money without including you in the meeting!

    Oh I’m sorry did the past Premier not include you in his meeting or did you have to wait until you got in charge to say enough is enough with spending the money.

    Right now my own people including myself have loss are jobs. How the hell are some of us going to pay are mortgage. We are going to see a great deal of people going to jail for bringing in drugs, because in the end a man has to eat.

    Premier you have been in charge of Finance for 7 plus years, please don’t tell the rest of Bermuda you didn’t see the money pot going low. Deep down inside you put yourself before Country you could have taken a stand a long time ago.

    I can’t hate Brown for what he did cause you were the on holding the purse strings and just like a kid if mom’s going to let him reach into the cookie jar and take more cookies. What you think he’s going to do??? KEEP EATING!!!!!!!!

    • LOL (original) says:

      You mean Burch got upset and took his top/marbles home?

      LOL

  3. Joe says:

    Minister Perinchief has a tough job ahead of him. He did, however, hit the nail on the head by attributing Bermuda’s crime problems (in part) to both our social and educational dysfunction.Police are needed, yes. But more policing is not the answer. A plan, perhaps similar to the social approach taken to alcoholism is needed. We do not merely arrest alcoholics and incarcerate them; we attempt to deal with the problem at its roots: AA groups, government sponsored awareness campaigns -which begin in the schools; charity groups; an established drinking age; bar inspections, etc. In other words we go to the root cause and educate.
    In Bermuda we have created a wealthy and sophisticated society and then turned our backs on education. Government pointed its finger at the foreign companies and said, essentially,’we will make you hire Bermudians and so you will have to educate them’. That policy has failed, and we blame the foreigners.
    Young blacks in particular are given a bleak message: failure is an option. A young man in today’s world who, at the age of 15 or 16, has a child and no plans to achieve further education will become another statistic and ultimately he and his children will become a burden on this society. Young women who decide at 14 or 15 to ‘give’ their man a child will similarly become statistics. Not only will these parents grow into resentful adults, their children are likely to continue on a marginal path.
    We have lost a generation, but perhaps the next is salvageable.
    As with alcohol, our political leaders must encourage success through education and hard work -not resentment and failure.
    Government must sponsor life skills programs for young adults which discourage teen pregnancies and school drop outs;
    Parents must be brought on board and made more accountable for their children’s actions;
    Young males must be constantly given messages of encouragement through the identity of leaders in business (Bermuda has a great many enormously successful black business leaders);
    Foreigners must be seen as tools of our success, not carpetbaggers;
    Well, I think you get the idea.
    We have created the reasons for our crime wave and the fact that we tend to blame others runs to the root of the cause. It is not the foreigner, it is not the police nor the Commissioner; it is not the Minister nor the churches. It is our deadlocked political and social system which has caused this and there appears to be not enough strength in our leaders to pull us out of the hole. Sir John Swan almost got there, and Dr. Brown could have but in the end turned out to be the biggest carpetbagger of them all.
    In the end, it is a black problem and that continues to be a subject we cannot discuss too long before running off topic.
    Big Brothers and Sisters have the right idea, we just need our political leaders to see their role in the same way. Re-tool our society from the ground up through education -in and outside of the classroom. Examples exist all over the world to learn from. Surely it is easier to instill hope and ambition in someone young, rather than to destroy their dreams. At lest that much is on our side.

  4. GPS says:

    All these “higher ups” want to do is have meetings….set up commissions, have all these forums….damn, if our Premier didn’t see what is happening all this time, Bermuda is S.O.L.

    • National Insecurity says:

      Ditto to that “GPS”, add that to the fact that the Government has no control over the Police Service. That control comes from Britain via the Governor… either way, the Police Service is reactive, not proactive, and therefore not a viable solution to the violence, unless start sweeping the streets on a regular basis, and not just when someone gets shot!

      I’m not sure what the police want us that have no ties to these bad neighbourhoods to do. I don’t know any of these gangsters personally. I will not call Crimestoppers, because I have no information to give them. I do not buy drugs. Sorry but I have no criminal intelligence… Don’t police investigators get trained and paid to investigate? I already have a job…

  5. Terry says:

    At present, I am not a big fan of the PLP but having know Wayne for 45 years he is an excellent choice. I hope he brings much to the table.

    • GPS says:

      This means you are 65 y/o

      • Terry says:

        How do you come up with that figure. Better check your altimiter and rate of climb there fella.

    • PEPPER says:

      Wayne should have been the number one choice to begin with !!! this man has years of experience…thank you premier for seeing what a contribution this man has done for Bermuda….and also for the new senator Jonathan Smith..I think this team is what Bermuda needs.

  6. Really says:

    Interesting he leaves after all his colleges stood by him and Brown when they decided to bring in the four gitmo guys. Did they meet without involving their party members? YES, do unto others as you wish done to you….

    • #Thatisall says:

      colleagues** GOOD point! Never was a huge Burch fan anyway…

  7. Cleancut says:

    I think Burch was fired, or resigned before the fact, Premier Cox probably had enough of his theatrics, how can you run a country when one of your Ministers is stabbing you in the back.

  8. Insider says:

    I was very disappointed to hear Mrs. Cox separate herself from the party the way she did. She sounded selfish and self concerned. Also, it was poor politics and bad for PLP business. She made it sound like she can’t trust any one in her party. Actually, thats exactly what she said. How is any one under her suppose to go to work today and feel about dealing with her. Was bad cricket on her part to publicly said what she did last night on the news.
    Mr. Burch will be a serious lost. The Party should have fought to ensure he stayed. He was the right man for the job at this time.
    Mr. Perinchief I a real man. He is experienced with keeping his feet on ground and his nose to the grind. But I am not sure if politics is his best field of operations. I would prefer him as Commissioner of Police then the Minister over seeing Police. I will not comment on the state of affairs with the commissioner of police. That is a whole other sad story.
    Good luck to you Mr. Minister. Those are some large heavy shoes you just stepped into. I do not envy you. Not one bit.