BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – CRIME is universal; it cannot be stopped but it surely can be minimised. But how can this be achieved in our Federation when witnesses to heinous crimes such as murders remain silent and parents turn a blind eye to their children’s deviant behaviour while some allegedly encourage them in nefarious activities with the aim of gaining the spoils?
This does not augur well for a 31-year-old nation whose economy is heavily dependent on tourism and services. If not halted in their track soonest, the perpetrators of violent crime could create an early eruption of the ‘metaphorical economic volcano’ that would certainly lead to the insurmountable destruction of Government’s plans for promotion of the nation’s prosperity and equitable distribution of wealth to all.
For example, it will be an arduous task for the Government to convince foreigners to invest in the Federation; for no right-thinking businessperson will invest in a country that has an unstable political climate or a country where there is no respect for human lives. Also, how will the Government convince tourists that they would not be harmed by criminal elements?
It is a proven fact that political stability and economic development are deeply interconnected.
As stated by a staff reporter of the US-based New Era, “The common denominator and the most obvious relationship between economic growth and stability is the fact that a stable environment fosters economic growth.”
Crime in St. Kitts-Nevis
Crime can be defined as an action or instance of negligence that is deemed injurious to the public welfare or morals or to the interests of the state and that is legally prohibited.
There are various forms of crime, ranging from Driving Under Influence to Treason. And crimes are classified according to the level of seriousness – Misdemeanour and Felony.
Misdemeanour speaks to less serious crimes such as parking in a no-parking zone, while Felony is classified as more serious crimes such as murder, kidnapping and robbery. However, for the purpose of discussion, this writer has decided to look at murder in the twin-island Federation.
According to SKNVibes’ statistics, there have been some 285 murders and countless other serious crimes from July 1995 to date, most of which remain unsolved. From among the almost 20-year-period, the worst year was 2011 in which there were a record 34 murders that had seen St. Kitts and Nevis being rated among the top murder capitals in the world per capita.
However, with Celvin Geron ‘CG’ Walwyn being appointed Commissioner of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF) on September 1 of that year, the nation had seen a very significant reduction in the murder rate in the following year (2012). In that year, there were 16 reported murders, but in 2013 it rose to 23 and one more was added to that total in 2014.
There were 10 more murders up to when he tendered his resignation on Friday, March 27, 2015, which took the murder rate to 80 during his tenure – seven in 2011 and 73 between 2012 and his date of resignation.
Indeed his presence had brought some changes in the crime-fighting strategy of the RSCNPF with the creation of a number of units, including Robbery Unit, Delta Squad, and the Violent Crime Unit. He was instrumental in arranging a number of advance training courses for members of the Force, which were conducted both in the Federation and overseas by US-based law enforcement professionals.
Walwyn had claimed that since his appointment as Commissioner there had been a reduction in crime. He however had his problems in the Force, where it is known that there were strained relationships between himself and members of the High Command as well as accusations of him being politically aligned. He was also accused of openly displaying favouritism among members of the Force and regularly took public accolades for the institution’s success with employment of the nominal singular pronoun “I” and cast blame on other Senior Officers, especially those on Nevis, for failure.
There have been two murders since his resignation and sources claimed that there is a high level of cooperation among members of the High Command and that it is rapidly transcending throughout the Force.
Some Causes of Crime
There are many different causes of crime. The causes of crime are complex and governments as well as law enforcement bodies the world over are constantly battling to bring down the rate in order to make their respective country a safer place.
Listed below are some of the causes:
1. Poverty;
2. Drugs and alcohol abuse;
3. Gang culture;
4. TV violence;
5. Social exclusion;
6. Unemployment;
7. Absence of father’s authority and discipline;
8. Abusive childhood;
9. Low self-esteem;
10. Failure of the criminal justice system;
11. Limited education;
12. Witnessing domestic violence from early childhood; and
13. Being encouraged in deviant behaviour by family members.
Some Solutions to Causes of Crime
There is no one solution to crime. However, during this writer’s research, many recommended solutions were examined and a number of them, coupled with the writer’s own, were taken from a non-profit organisation known as JustGive.
Taking the current situation that exists in St. Kitts and Nevis, which is similar to many other countries in the Caribbean, law enforcement agencies alone cannot successfully fight crime. They need the support of everyone in the Federation, from parents to faith-based organisations. Therefore, the following are recommendations to minimise the crime situation in St. Kitts and Nevis:
1. Establish neighbourhood watch in collaboration with the police in every community;
2. The RSCNPF must use the media to educate the public on its rights relative to the laws of the land;
3. Build a partnership with the police and focus on solving problems instead of reacting to crises. Make it possible for neighbours to report suspicious activities or crimes without fear of retaliation – the use of Crime Stoppers or anonymous phone calls.
4. Ensure the nation’s youth in every community have positive ways to spend their spare time through organised recreational activities, tutoring programmes, part-time work and volunteer opportunities;
5. Volunteer to mentor young people who need positive support from adults;
6. Encourage discussions with children, especially in hot spot communities, about what worries them and where and how they have felt threatened by violence;
7. Protect victims and their children of domestic violence through policies as well as laws that offer them prompt and meaningful response to calls for help and appropriate legal recourse;
8. Arrange programmes for children from the primary to secondary levels in solving problems of violence in schools and communities. Also, encourage them to teach violence prevention to younger children and to reach out to educate their peers;
9. Government must give more support to Operation Future which is headed by Police Officer Lauston Percival;
10. Some of the programmes implemented by former Commissioner Walwyn, such as Mentoring, Advising, Guiding and Instructing Children (MAGIC) and Teens and Police Services (TAPS), should be continued;
11. Criminals and gang members always secure their firearm in an area where it is easily accessible. Therefore, Government needs to demolish all dilapidated unoccupied buildings and let the owners foot the cost;
12. Snap roadblocks and random searches in known hot spots should be a continuous strategy of the police;
13. Government should ensure that CCTV is erected in every hot spot in the Federation;
14. The judiciary must ensure that harsh penalties are meted out to perpetrators of gun-related crimes;
15. Children should be taken on conducted tours of the penal institution;
16. Police need to analyse crime trends/patterns (especially murder) and where they are committed in order to prevent and or make successful arrests;
17. The command staff of the RSCNPF should be provided the necessary tools to make data-driven decisions;
18. Police must make full use of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System so as to have a data base, which could warrant conviction; and
19. Police should rigidly enforce the curfew law against unsupervised juveniles;
President Obama’s position on Violence
Last Friday (Apr. 10) during the question and answer segment with officials from the Inter-American Development Bank, members of the global business community and Government delegations at Hotel RIU in Panama City, US President Barrack Obama stated that not combining strong security measures with a fair judicial system, transparency and government accountability is one aspect of the many problems in dealing with violence.
He was at the time responding to the issue of governments providing solutions to violence, which was raised by Panama’s President Juan Varela.
President Obama opined that while the problem of violence is being experienced in many parts of the world, a lot of it has to do with the lack of opportunities.
“But part of it,” he added, “also has to do with the difficulties of establishing strong security if we also are not combining that with transparency, with Government accountability, with a criminal justice system and a judicial system that is perceived as fair and legitimate.”
SKN Government’s position on Crime
With 12 murders within the first three-plus months of this year, the Team Unity Government has announced that it would be seeking outside assistance to solve crime.
Speaking to that island’s Information Department on Tuesday (Apr. 7), Nevis’ Premier and Federal Minister of Nevis Affairs Hon. Vance Amory said: “I want to say very categorically that the Nevis Island Administration and the Federal Government will take very strong steps to investigate these crimes and the crimes which have stayed on the books undetected.
“I think the Prime Minister, based on our discussions, has indicated a zero tolerance to crime and I am sure, having spoken to the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom and to the Ambassador to the United States, that he will make serious requests for assistance to deal with the issue of crime in St. Kitts and Nevis. I think our purpose certainly is to do all in our power to deal with crime and to stamp it out, eradicate it and certainly continue to have a zero tolerance to crime in Nevis and also in St. Kitts.”
Premier Amory reminded that any incident of crime could tarnish the image of the twin-island Federation and it also has the potential of reducing the perception of people who want to visit or invest.
It is therefore incumbent upon every national, citizen and resident of St. Kitts and Nevis to abide by the laws of the land, to discourage individuals from breaking them and to cooperate with the police in order to make the Federation a safer place.
