BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE time is now! It is time for all those who had witnessed a homicide, a robbery or any criminal offence to remove the sutures or crazy glue from their lips and utilise the various modes of getting information to the police. Remember, it is country above self and a nation, whose economy is heavily depends on tourism, will find itself teetering on the brink of economic failure should serious crimes reach an uncontrollable level.
Over the past months, we had seen the scourge of criminal activities including robberies (some unreported), with the most recent being home invasions by gun-toting bandits at the Half Moon Courtyard. There have also been recent shooting incidents in which two men on Nevis lost their lives; one is Gervin ‘Nose’ Walters who was shot multiple times in Gingerland by an individual dressed in dark clothing. The other man, Laughton ‘Two Cock’ Mills, was also killed by a lone gunman dressed in dark clothing, who fled the scene with items belonging to the deceased. Mills was known to be an individual who always wore expensive jewellery. And there was the incident involving a young man who claimed that he was shot in the hand by an unknown assailant while he was walking on the Island’s Main Road in Cleverly Hills, Sandy Point. This young man’s account of the incident is highly questionable.
So far for this year, there have been 26 homicides and 25 murders, taking into account the shooting-death of 17-year-old Philo Wallace whose matter is considered a homicide until completion of investigations and pronouncement by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
This figure does not auger well for a country with an estimated population of 56, 916 (January 1, 2015 census). We have surpassed last year’s figure by two, 2013 by five and 2012 by eight. However, we are still behind the astronomical figure of 2011 when the twin-island Federation was classified as the number one murder capital of the world per capita with 34 deaths. Let us not have a repeat of that year, for one homicide is one too many. This therefore means that we must cooperate with the law enforcement agencies to not only bring the unscrupulous perpetrators to justice, but also in an attempt to prevent the loss of more lives (especially those of the nation’s youth).
Like the Police High Command, NGOs and many law-abiding citizens, the clarion call for public assistance in the fight against crime is also being made by the Premier of Nevis, the Hon. Vance Amory.
By way of public statement yesterday (Nov. 24), Amory said: “One of the challenges which we face, is the scourge of ongoing criminal activity and I believe that both the Federal Government and the Nevis Island Administration, which are certainly working together hand-in-hand, have initiated a number of policies and strategies to deal with the matter of utilising the police, utilising the technology to combat the criminal activity in our country.
“It is, therefore, very disheartening and I cannot put it any better than that or any softer than that, that we have seen in the last week and a half and certainly yesterday, we have seen what I can only term as senseless acts of violence where two young men following on the loss of the young man in the brawl or whatever would have transpired in the bar in Charlestown, Philo Wallace, we now see a young man, Mr. Walters of Taylor’s Pasture, and another young man yesterday from Brick Kiln losing their lives.”
Amory said that in an effort to combat the crime situation, the Nevis Island Administration together with the Federal Government have initiated a number of policies and strategies, which include increased patrols and more stop and search operations. He however stressed that the police could not be everywhere and called on the nation to be more involved.
“I want, therefore, to say to our people that we have to be involved in the matter of the fight against crime because even with all of the positive things which we know will happen in 2016 and which have been happening in the last year, where we have seen an improvement in the economy and so on, the incidence of violence in our country will be that single most destructive force which will cause those of us who live here, whether we are younger or older, to lose the prosperity which has been worked for, over the years.”
Also occurring yesterday were comments made by two members of the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CIC) during an interview with WINN FM’s Managing Director Clive Bacchus.
Bacchus first spoke with the President of the Nevis Division of the CIC, Ernie France, who lamented that the Nevis community is in a state of sadness.
“There is uneasiness, a very disquieting feeling that I think pervades the community. We have had nine murders on Nevis within the last year...Just yesterday here on Nevis we had another murder, last Saturday, Saturday before last, we had a gentleman who was shot down in Gingerland area. And so the community is uneasy. There is a pervading sense of sadness, people are very troubled and concerned, I think, about the spate of criminal activity and the homicides.”
He intoned that the Nevis community with just about 12,000 people is very quiet and calm and that “everybody knows each other and this kind of thing is very foreign to us”.
France wistfully recalled some of the people who were recently killed on the island and proclaimed that families and the community are devastated and at the same time frustrated that the killers of their loved ones are still roaming free and might even be among them.
“We don’t know who these people are who are perpetrating these crimes. And so people are concerned because, obviously, people can very well be the people you are talking to today. You just don’t know who these people are, and that I think is generating a real disquieting feeling in the community. People are really very troubled and we are hoping and praying that very soon we will see these crimes being abated and we can bring the perpetrators to justice.”
In his brief interview with Bacchus, President of the CIC, Damion Hobson noted that the Chamber is concerned about the existing crime situation and exhorted the business community to step up their efforts to improve personal security.
“The Chamber again is extremely concerned with the level of homicides and crime within the Federation. One of the things we will be doing again this year is issuing guidelines to our members in relation to crime and prevention techniques. What is important is that the community and the business community take seriously their own personal security and do everything within their power to ensure the safety of their businesses, their employees and themselves. We really have to take our security to another level.”
Hobson proffered the view that the level of crime and homicide is ridiculous and citizens have do what they could to protect themselves. “The police can’t be everywhere all the time and so we have to take whatever precautions and measures to ensure that we protect ourselves and our families. And that is the bottom line.”
I am in agreement with both Premier Amory and Hobson; the police cannot be everywhere at the same time. There are many nooks and crannies in the Federation and the number of officers in the Police Force cannot cover all of them, including those escape routes to the mountains; for it is known that only God in omnipresent.
We have to admit that those special units within the Police Force have proven to be a thorn in the rear of drug traffickers, especially the Special Services and the Anti-Narcotics Units that are now nicknamed “The A Team”. For this year, they have removed 19 firearms and a large quantity of ammunition off the streets. They have also seized some 830 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of EC$11.265M, and 10.522 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of EC$447,790. Kudos to the police! But what about the solvability rate of homicides?
The solvability rate is way below the expectation of law-abiding citizens, and many families are eagerly waiting the day when the killers of their loved ones are brought to trial and convicted.
Prior to the change in administration at both the governmental and High Command levels, police officers underwent training in various areas of crime detection. And since the installation of the new Government and the implementation of the Six-Point Plan, there have been ongoing training in Investigations, Crime Scene Management and Preservation, Interviewing Techniques, Firearms and Ballistics Tracing and Marking Procedures, Discreet Shadowing, Senior Investigating Officer's Course, Awareness Courses in Crime Skills, Witness Protection, Family Liaison and Disclosure of Evidence, among others. Some of these courses were conducted by the Bramshill Police Advisors out of England and, according to Premier Amory, the Government has sought support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from where two officers would be coming to the Federation to assist in the fight against crime.
Despite the training and international support and assistance, despite the use of advance technology, many of the homicides will remain unsolved. This is truism and will remain so if those who had witnessed the killings continue to remain silent.
Why do you remain silent when you know the perpetrators of these heinous crimes? Why are you afraid to speak out? Think about your loved ones! Should one (or more) of them become a victim of these marauding scumbags and someone saw what transpired, would you not plea with that individual to provide the police with the relevant information? It therefore seems that only when people are hurt they would want to cry out for pain. Where is the brotherly and sisterly love? Is the community spirit no longer residing in St. Kitts and Nevis? If yes, then let it be seen in your actions; for the nationals of this Federation were historically known as a God-fearing people.
The onus now lies with you. It is therefore incumbent upon you to speak out because the police alone cannot solve these crimes...they need your help.
