BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – The Transport Section of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF) has received a boost to its fleet with the donation of two brand new sports utility vehicles (SUVs) to enhance its capability in the fight against crime.
The donation was made by the Coalition of Support for St. Kitts and Nevis Security Initiatives at a simple handing over ceremony held this morning (Sept. 18) at the Police Training Complex.
Commissioner of Police (Ag) Stafford Liburd thanked the corporate citizen for the timely gesture and noted that since his enlistment in the Police Force he did not think there was any other group that had been making donations in the form of equipment as the Coalition.
“I think it is important for me to acknowledge that over the years they have consistently been a partner with the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force,” he added.
The COP (Ag) declared that the vehicles would be used in the Force’s continued fight against crime and also to serve the public.
“It is our intention to put them to best use. It is our intention to take good care as we have done with other vehicles that we had received from this partnership,” Liburd said while adding that “it is important that members of the public, who view this event, recognise that partnership is important and we must partner in order to succeed in fighting crime and in order to be successful”.
He said that the donation shows that NGOs are important to society and called on others to join the Coalition group in its support to the police in their fight against crime, noting that it does not have to be in the form of vehicles but areas of which the Force would identify.
Speaking on behalf of the Coalition of Support for St. Kitts and Nevis Security Initiatives, John Zuliani said the group had donated the two vehicles to help support the RSCNPF.
“I have had the pleasure of growing up here in St. Kitts and I spent the majority of my life here. I think safety is something that we are all striving for throughout the community and anything that the business sector that we can do to assist to ensure the safety of our citizens of St. Kitts, I think it falls on us as citizens.
“So the Coalition will always be here supporting the Police Force and in any other way that we feel we can support or that the Government feels that we may support,” Zuliani said.
In his brief remarks, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security Osmond Petty, on behalf of his Ministry and the Government, thanked the Coalition for the donation.
Petty made reference to the police Six-Point Action Plan in the fight against crime, noting that it had yielded success but there are still challenges.
He stated that one of the challenges is access to vehicles for community patrols.
“...Because, when we have operations in one part of the country and we move to another section, we still have to maintain our presence in those other areas, high visibility, and that can only be done by vehicle.”
The Permanent Secretary also highlighted complaints his Ministry had received from the public, but suggested that they may soon be remedied.
“There have been a lot of complaints from the public about the police not being present. There have been complaints about calling police stations and no vehicles are available. I want to suggest that contributions such as these two vehicles will go a long way in assisting the police to improve on that situation.”
He however admonished the police to ensure that the vehicles are well taken care of and that they must have improved police visibility in the various communities and not to have the vehicles parked with no one within.
According to the COP (Ag), the two vehicles would be allocated to Divisions ‘B’ and ‘C’; one at the Sandy Point Police Station in St. Kitts and the other at the New Castle Police Station in Nevis.
The Coalition of Support for St. Kitts and Nevis Security Initiatives was formed to establish a platform that advocates positive development and progress in the critical areas of safety and security in the Federation, which they claimed would be accomplished through the unified voice of the group’s membership.
The group noted that the goal of this initiative is to assist with the establishment and maintenance of an acceptable level of safety and security throughout the Federation.
This, the group claims, is to be achieved by working in partnership with the Government to support and expand the capacity of local law enforcement in decreasing crime and contributing to an environment conducive to successful, sustainable economic activity and growth in which citizens, students, tourists, guests, employees, customers and all other constituencies live without fear of crime.
