Businesses demand increased police patrol for Christmas/Carnival season

By VonDez Phipps
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WITH the spate of violent crimes plaguing the nation, a number of local business owners and service providers are demanding increased police patrol for this Christmas/Carnival season.

In a recent interview with Juni Liburd, owner of Culture Shoppe, he worded his concern about the security of businesses and stressed the importance of partnering with the police to ensure a safe Christmas season.

“I expect that during the Christmas/Carnival Season, especially looking at our escalating crime rate, the police would step up their foot and mobile patrol, not only at the peak of the season but also right through to the end. I have hired additional security personnel and have ensured that there is proper lighting at my business, but there must be some presence by the police.

“Over the years, police presence has not been enough, so I hope that they would do much more especially now that we have such a high number of homicides and other violent crimes.
The Defence Force should also be brought out at this time especially in the areas where people shop, because they act as a strong deterrent to crime,” Liburd said.

Another businessman Mahesh Nariani of Sun Island Clothing said all businesspersons have to be extremely cautious with security as it has some harsh effects on businesses.

Nariani said, “Everybody has to beef up their security as we try to cope with the present situation. We would be happy if the police had a hotline that we can contact them in the case of an emergency. We would also be very pleased if the police could patrol in the major areas where business are located just like when they go to patrol Port Zante when ships come in.

We want the same and even greater police presence. They have to make their presence felt because Christmas will cause a lot of foot traffic.” ~~Adz:Right~~

When contacted, Public Relations Representative of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force Constable Ervin Williams told SKNVibes that the police have been offering crime prevention tips geared toward businesses, and added that active patrols are carried out to maintain order in the general public.

“To date, we haven’t had any businesses being robbed, so we may safely say that the police presence is functioning well. It is difficult for the police to give protection to every business, thus we have recommended that business hire private security to ensure their security during the season.

“However, I must note that our mobile and bicycle patrols have been beefed up. But we would have to recognize that the police do not have the necessary resources to patrol specific areas frequently within a short space of time, but we try to include every single business district in our patrols.”

Williams informed that the Force is currently discussing the possibility of introducing a special patrol unit specifically in the busy areas of the island as the police are “concerned with the security and safety of local businesses”.