As preparations ramp up for one of the Caribbean’s most anticipated annual cultural celebrations, the acting deputy commissioner of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, Trevor “Buju” Bailey, has issued a bold public guarantee: the 2026 iteration of Vincy Mas will retain its long-held reputation as the safest carnival in the entire region.
Bailey delivered his firm security pledge during an official press conference hosted by the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC) on Wednesday, sending a direct warning to any potential troublemakers: anyone who attempts to bring violent conflict into the capital city of Kingstown during the 10-day festival will be confronted head-on by law enforcement.
In recent months, local public safety has been roiled by rising gang-related tensions, with two rival groups identified by the numerical monikers “6ixx” and “7even” emerging as the primary sources of conflict. Bailey addressed these tensions head-on, reframing the numerical narrative around carnival security to center the unified force of law enforcement. “I want to replace the six and the seven with one number — one Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force. That is the only number that we carry: one,” he stated.
To potential gang members planning to bring inter-group violence to the celebrations, Bailey delivered an unmistakeable message: “If you have any bad intention, keep your intention to yourself. If you bring it to Kingstown, you will come head on with number one, and we will flex our muscles, and I’m saying it boldly. We will flex our muscles as hard as we can if you bring any 6ixx and 7even violence… because we get serious when it comes to that.”
Bailey structured his security advocacy around a striking “10 to 1” framework, highlighting the broad cross-section of stakeholders united in their demand for a peaceful festival. He counted the Minister of National Security, the Commissioner of Police, the CDC, the Ministry of Health, local vendors, event promoters, school children, the national taxi association, and local merchants as nine of the ten voices calling for calm — with the unified police force representing the tenth. This aligns with the well-known local idiom “ten to one is murder,” meaning overwhelming advantage for the side holding majority support.
“Now, if I give you 10, there’s that old saying ‘10 to one is…’ and I’m leaving it right there. I am not saying the other word,” Bailey noted. “I’m just saying 10 to one is — so there are 10 of us against you alone. So don’t bring no 6ixx and 7even violence into our carnival. We’re going to stamp that out.”
As a key demonstration of the force’s preparation, Bailey pointed to recent successful security operations at smaller rural carnival events held across St. Vincent. Two major regional carnivals, held the prior weekend in Georgetown and Chateaubelair, were policed with reinforced personnel numbers, and passed without major incidents. That model, he confirmed, will be scaled up for the national 2026 event.
“None of those events had a shortage of police. We ensured that there were more than enough security personnel on the ground, and that is an indication that come 2026 for the national carnival, there’s going to be no shortage of police presence in and around Kingstown,” Bailey said.
The acting deputy commissioner acknowledged that carnival inherently brings large crowds, widespread alcohol consumption, and public revelry, and emphasized that law enforcement has no intention of disrupting the festive atmosphere. Rather, the police’s goal is to create a controlled, secure environment where all attendees can celebrate safely. “We know that for the 10‑day period, people are going to come to Kingstown, they’re going to consume the alcohol, they’re going to enjoy all of the shows, they’re going to patronise the bars, and we want people to come and do that,” he said. “You will be doing so in an environment that is safe and secure.”
To deliver on that promise, Bailey confirmed that uniformed officers will maintain high visibility across all areas of Kingstown throughout the festival. “At every corner, at every junction, when you travel Kingstown, you will interface with police officers who are dressed in the uniform of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, so the environment to party, the environment to revel will be safe,” he said.
In a nod to the festive context, Bailey confirmed that officers have received internal guidance to exercise measured tolerance for minor misbehavior linked to alcohol and celebration, such as occasional offensive language. Officers are instructed to de-escalate first, issuing a verbal warning to misbehaving attendees before turning to formal arrest. For example, officers may simply remind intoxicated attendees to adjust their behavior and encourage them to head home if they have overconsumed.
However, Bailey stressed that this flexibility is not a free pass for serious disorder. “It is not a licence for you to come to Kingstown and drink and misbehave and figure that because I say we’re going to be flexible, you come and mash up the place,” he warned. “We will not allow that behaviour to get too excessive.”
A core pillar of the 2026 security plan is a strict “no glass bottle” policy across all of Kingstown and surrounding carnival venues. Under the new rule, all vendors will be required to serve alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in disposable plastic cups, and attendees will be prohibited from carrying glass containers through public festival areas. The policy will be formalized by Minister of National Security St. Clair Leacock, who will officially designate the relevant areas as no-glass-bottle zones.
“It is an offence to traverse the streets walking with your Guinness and your beer in the bottle like that. We don’t want to have to arrest anyone for that violation. All we simply ask is that you pour your drink into a plastic glass and enjoy your drink,” Bailey explained. Officers have also been instructed to enforce the rule with flexibility: rather than confiscating and pouring out drinks from attendees found with glass, officers will ask holders to either pour the beverage into a provided plastic cup or finish the drink on-site before surrendering the container.
Reaffirming the police force’s commitment as a core partner to the CDC, Bailey closed by repeating his guarantee that the 2026 Vincy Mas will live up to its regional reputation for safety. “Vincy Mas is indeed the safest carnival in the region, and… 2026 is going to be no exception,” he said. “We’re going to give the full, full support and ensure that Vincymas is a successful one.”