BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE steady increase in the number of homicides which has occurred within the Federation over recent years has more than raised the alarm that something was amiss. And the unwavering belief that most of the 42 persons killed over the past 20 months are connected to some form of gang activity, has done nothing but raise the sound level of the alarm to near deafening proportions.
The woeful cries of the nation have finally been heard and the federal government is making an attempt to put an end to what is believed to be the unscrupulous behaviour of society’s misfits.
In early June 2011, Minister of National Security and Deputy Prime Minister, Sam T. Condor presented The Gang (Prohibition and Prevention) Bill, 2011 before the Federal Parliament, which is designed to discourage gang membership while providing for the prosecution of persons accused of gang-related activity.
According to the language of the Bill, it is “to make provision for the maintenance of public safety and public order by discouraging membership of gangs, and suppressing of gang-related activities; to enhance law enforcement in the area of investigation and prosecution of gangs; to deter and punish crime committed in concert with a gang; to protect law - abiding citizens and communities from such crimes; to facilitate and reform prosecution of juveniles who commit crimes in concert with a gang; to establish gang prevention programmes; and to provide for related or incidental matters”.
The legislation, which spells out the definitions of the words ‘gang’, ‘gang-related’, ‘leader of a gang’ and ‘member of a gang’, among others, if passed into law, will provide for the imposition of a five-25-year prison sentence for persons who are found guilty of the offences spelt out by the by the Bill.
“Any person who (a) forms or attempts to form a gang; (b) is or attempts to become a member of a gang; or (c) in order to gain an unlawful benefit, professes to be a member of a gang when in fact he or she is not, whether by telling anyone that he or she is a member of a gang or otherwise suggesting to anyone that he or she is a member of a gang; commits an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term of ten years, and on any subsequent conviction on indictment he or she shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of twenty years.
“(3) A person who is a leader of a gang commits an offence and shall be liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term of twenty-five years. (4) A law enforcement officer who is at the same time a member of a gang commits an offence and shall be liable, on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term of twenty-five years.”
The proposed act also prohibits persons from preventing or aiding in the prevention of a gang member from relinquishing membership of a gang. An individual found guilty of this offence, would be subject to a 25-year term of imprisonment.
It is hoped that this piece of legislation, once enacted, would prove to be a stringent deterrent to the gang development and gang-related violence in St. Kitts-Nevis.
The public was asked, however, by Prime Minister Dr. Douglas, to peruse the proposed legislation and submit any suggestions, recommendations or comments to the Attorney General’s Office for consideration.
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GANG (PROHIBITION AND PREVENTION) BILL, 2011
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