BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE criminal acts perpetrated over the past weekend have led to the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce calling for “powerful action” to be taken to arrest the problem of crime within the Federation and has offered suggestions about measures to be taken.
In a press release issued Tuesday (Apr. 21), the CIC expressed that “14 murders within the first 15 weeks of this year clearly indicates that criminal activity is again on the rise”.
The required powerful and urgent action, the CIC indicated, would “restore the safety and confidence of the citizens in our Federation”.
To that end, it has recommended increased proactivity from the security forces, inclusive of “being immediately mobilized to go into the ‘known hot spots’ with swift and decisive action to track down the illegal firearms and criminals, rather than simply reacting to crimes after they have been committed”.
It also recommended that “friendly neighbouring governments” be approached urgently for assistance with “the detection and control of such criminal activity” if it is felt that such assistance would yield results in the local crime fight.
“The Chamber again registers its continued support of Government's anti- crime initiatives but reminds Government of its two main recommendations which were issued since March 2OO9, but were only partly adhered to in the past. These recommendations were that: - (a) in addition to confirming a new Commissioner of Police, that (b) two other Senior Officers be contracted - the first to train local officers in crime detection techniques, and the secondto deal with human resource issues within the Police Force.”
In addition to imploring citizens of the land to give their full cooperation to the authorities in their efforts to rid the Federation of crime, the CIC also urged the Government to “give full and active consideration to these recommendations, as the country's future is severely at risk if this scourge is not addressed in a powerful and effective way".
Only on Monday the Acting Commissioner of Police Stafford Liburd, in an address to the nation, highlighted a number of areas in which the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force intends on focusing as it intensifies its fight against crime.
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