BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE crime situation in St. Kitts and Nevis has prompted various reactions across the communities but Commissioner of Police Ian Queeley has made an impassioned plea for individuals to become irate and enraged about it.
At first glance, or upon first hearing this, the admonition seems misplaced and simply a bad one, but Queeley explained that this anger or righteous indignation should propel individuals to bell the cat when illegal activities are observed.
The reactions include: girlfriends encouraging their surviving boyfriends to exact revenge; parents challenging their children who would have survived a shooting incident to seek out the alleged perpetrator and return the ‘favour’; guardians remaining silent knowing that their wards are involved in criminal activities; individuals reaching out to the authorities to provide them with information about incidents of crime; and some individuals communicate with criminals advising them to desist from their nefarious activities.
Speaking with SKNVibes in a recent interview, Commissioner Queeley explained that many delight in pointing fingers at the organization he leads as the body solely responsible for fighting crime.
This misconception, he indicated, is what is causing the crime situation to spiral out of control.
“People are seeing something and not telling anybody anything. My advice to them is not to wait to be a victim of a crime because today’s witness can be tomorrow’s victim. And we have to be vex that this is the kind of thing that is happening in our country! Is this the kind of country we want for our children and grandchildren to grow up in? We can’t want that! The police understand that we play a lead role in the fight against crime and me and my team are committed to the task at hand, very committed to the task at hand.
“People here think that the job of fighting crime is the police’s job. Don’t you think it is time for the citizens of this country to be angry and outraged by what is happening? They must be angry and outraged!”
Thus far, the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force has been successful in removing 35 illegal firearms from the Federation’s streets. However, for every one removed, several more are smuggled in and hidden.
“We are taking guns off the streets and more are coming in. Do you think that the mothers, parents don’t know that the guns are coming into their houses?”
He questioned why mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and others neglect to act by turning in their loved ones who are committing crimes rather than harbouring them and encouraging unlawful behaviour.
“The bigger problem is not the police. The police are going on tirelessly. We need the community to play their part. There are church leaders, school leaders…what are the social programmes that are in place to steer the children away from a life of crime? They need to play their part.
"I get passionate whenever I speak about it because everybody is trying to point a finger at the police. The police have their faults, we are not perfect so we have our faults. But we are trying desperately."
The Commissioner entreated all to "be vexed about what’s happening in their country and the effect that it could have on the socio-economics of this country. They must understand what we are coming up against".
He reminded that if you see something, rather than keep silent about it, report it to the police, because remaining silent could result in "today's witness becoming tomorrow's victim".
