BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - ONE year has passed since C. G. Walwyn has been at the helm of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF) and according to him, the Federation has already seen a significant reduction in the crime rate.
C. G. Walwyn was officially sworn in as the head of RSCNPF on September 1, 2011, having succeeded Austin Williams as Commissioner, with a promise to change "business as usual" and crack down on crime.
In an exclusive interview with SKNVibes, the Top Cop reflected on his one year of service, giving insights to the changes that were made and the initiatives that were taken to bring down the Federation’s once climbing crime rate.
The Commissioner said that his year has not been easy but something had to be done in order to reduce the mounting homicide rate, noting that "almost every month there was a homicide or two, some months there were four and five".
He said that despite what the "nay-sayers" say, the reality is that crime has been reduced in the Federation and persons can see and feel it.
He also said that certain measures were put in place to ensure that crime would not continue to rise and "here we are a year later and things are different".
"We have developed a new squad called the Delta Squad and Delta Squad's primary purpose is to patrol the areas that are high profile for crime. They have a zero tolerance policy and that has been very effective to date. We have also increased training for members of the SSU and for members of the regular beat and patrol. We have instilled a new sense of purpose in the officers through training and vision and guidance and leadership and the benefits are being seen today.
"I've also created the Special Victims Unit which is designed to deal with the issue of child molestation and domestic violence within the Federation. We have put together a unit that speaks to child molestation, domestic violence, child abuse be it abandonment or neglect - anything that affects our children and anything that continues to marginalise the women in our society," he explained.
He said that the Police Force has made significant decreases in crime in the first year through training and redeployment of men, stating that they took the same men, redeployed them and they strategically went out and attacked crime.
The Commissioner enunciated that, because the Federation depends on tourism, the Police Force has taken steps to protect the economy by increasing visibility whenever a ship has docked, noting that this measure was one of extreme importance because Tourism is the only means of support for the Federation.
"We do this at nights in the villages around the country; the Delta Squad is there is there; but during the day time we have police through downtown anywhere that tourists might go so that we do not have a repeat of what happened at Brimstone Hill because that seriously affected the economy of this country."
He said that the decrease in criminal activity comes from strong leadership at the top, training, crime prevention, patrol, crime detection and public cooperation.
"As a leader of a law enforcement agency, if even I get one percent drop in crime, I'll be happy. But the police officers that work on the streets and the detectives and the civilian staff, we all came together and we have set a bench mark and that bench mark is we are trying to have crime reduced over the next three years by 30 percent. We are now more than 30 percent and this is the first year," he said.
Thanking the RSCNPF and the public for their continued support, Commissioner Walwyn said that crime has been reduced by 36 percent in the Federation.
"If we to look back January to July 31 last year, we had a reduction in crime for that seven month period of 6.5 percent. This year from January to July 31 there was a reduction in crime of 65.9 percent and, in the Federation as a whole, a reduction in crime of 36 percent."
The Top Cop said that he would like to see a further reduction in crime in the coming years, so that the people of the Federation can feel free to walk the streets again.
"I would like to see a time in this Federation when young girls who are underage can walk the streets without being molested. I would like to see a time in this Federation when a woman who is abused by a boyfriend or spouse can go to a police station and make a report and the report is taken by the police and processed by the Court and she receives justice.
"For the Police Force, I would love to see a leadership, whenever I leave, maintain the safety and security programmes initiated so that everyone in the Federation whether citizens or visitors can feel safe when walking down the street.
"I would like to see a time when the young people of the country will look to the future and give up the violence and build upon making this country safer, more secure and more productive," the Top Cop said.
