BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF POLICE Merclyn Hughes is encouraging citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis to take advantage of the concession on surveillance equipment that was recently approved by Cabinet.
A post-Cabinet press briefing issued last week informed that Cabinet had taken the decision to remove all duties and customs service charges from “all surveillance equipment to be used by households and businesses effective April 1 until December 31, 2016”.
In an exclusive interview with SKNVibes, Hughes spoke of the need for individuals to take their personal security more seriously and to invest in it. She said the concession encourages such and would actually assist the police in keeping the Federation as safe and secure as possible.
“I am happy that the Government has now introduced duty free with respect to persons getting appliances or security equipment for their homes. That too would help us in the fight against crime. The more citizens take security as a natural part of their everyday life and become more conscious of their surroundings, the easier it is for the police to secure the nation.
“A lot of times people go to sleep but leave a window or door unlocked. More often than not you would hear people say in a lot of the reports that we may get, ‘I closed the door’ or ‘I closed the window’, but they are not locked; and people look for these things. But now that the Government has instituted this, I would encourage as many persons as possible to take advantage of this and think about your own personal security.”
The ACP expressed that with the advancement of technology, it would be relatively easy for homeowners to monitor their residence even when they are not in the vicinity.
“There are alarm systems that you can put in place. Technology is growing where you can have cameras at your home and you can monitor it from your smart phone, so I’m encouraging everybody to capitalize on this and take your own personal security seriously.”
Expounding on the need for individuals to take their personal safety more seriously and to be more cautious with their surroundings, ACP Hughes spoke of a recent situation she encountered while on patrol with some of her officers.
“The other night I was on a patrol with some of my officers and we passed a house with a vehicle in front of it…and the front glass of the vehicle was up but the two back glasses were down. I guess that person might have given someone a ride and they put the glasses down. Even though it was like 1:00 a.m., we were able to call the owner and tell them to secure their vehicle.
“So even things like that, we need to take responsibility for our own security. Do not leave valuables on your car seats where people can take a peek into the vehicle and see what is in there.”
