BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A member of the Police High Command had reported that criminals are becoming more sophisticated in their committal of crimes in the Federation, but the Force is going to implement changes to its strategy and investigative method as well as to increase their presence within communities to combat the situation.
This announcement came against the backdrop of the Federation recently recording its 10th homicide for the year and a large number of reported house and business break-ins, as well as burglaries and robberies.
Questioned on the sophistication of the latest criminal activities in the Federation, Assistant Commissioner of Police and Head of the Crime Directorate, Andre Mitchell pointed out that sleuths have recently seen crimes being committed in a more aggressive manner than in the past.
The law enforcement official charged that in previous years, they had seen crimes committed with “a certain degree of aggressiveness”. However, to date, they have seen the changes being made in the execution of those activities, as the masterminds are become more emboldened.
“What we have been seeing lately is the method employed by these criminals has increasingly changed,” Mitchell said.
One such change may have been the type of weapon used in the shooting-death of Morella Webbe, which many claimed was “a high-powered automatic weapon”, since the vehicle bore a large number of bullet strikes.
Further sophistication evidence lies in the way Shariff Williams and Elvis Lawrence were gunned down.
According to reports from Nevis, the two young men were seated on a wall in the vicinity of a bar in Cotton Ground when in broad daylight gunmen exited a vehicle and fired a number of shots in their direction.
One was pronounced dead on the scene and the other succumbed to his injuries while seeking medical attention at the Alexandra Hospital.
To combat this problem, Mitchell said: “We as a High Command have put measures in place to address it or to address these problems.”
Speaking against the backdrop of a brazen daytime robbery at Ocean Cold Storage and a break-in at Island Purified Water outlet in Basseterre, the ACP urged those in the business community to “put measures in place to protect themselves and their business and their stakeholders”.
“...For they have seen that this fight against crime and the measures and methods employed by these criminals have to be wholesome. So, we are encouraging persons who are vulnerable to these types of crimes to put measures in place to protect their businesses.”
He continued: “We as a High Command are going to be out there with increased presence. Our strategy is going to change and our methods of investigations are going to change…”
The Government, in the 2017 Appropriation, had allocation over $70 million to the Ministry of National Security to assist with the fight against crime.
