BASSETERRE, St. KITTS - A recent study has revealed that youth within St. Kitts and Nevis are four-to-five time more likely to join gangs in comparison with their counterparts in other countries within the sub-region, according to Attorney General (AG), the Hon. Vincent Byron.
The sentiments come as a recent study conducted by the Regional Security System (RSS) shed light on teen crime and violence within the Eastern Caribbean States.
Speaking at the opening of the recently-held CARISECURE Workshop, Byron explained that young men and women in the Federation are at a greater risk of “engaging in high-risk behaviours”.
He pointed to gang affiliations and criminal activities, including robberies, drug trafficking and violent activities, as some of the areas that youth in St. Kitts and Nevis are likely to be engaged with.
This, he noted, stems from the high unemployment among the age group within the Federation and the sub-region
Speaking from the study, the Attorney General said researchers have indicated that homicide rates are largely attributed to “intimate partner violence, gang-related youth violence and the availability of illegal firearms”.
Specifying the locations of the study, Byron noted that in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean countries, street gangs continue to contribute to the growing insecurity among the people.
He provided startling statistics that the research had pinpointed.
“You would be made aware of a recent study undertaken by the Regional Security Service (RSS) in which, they have found that there are some 139 street gangs in the sub-region and with some 1578 street gang members. These were reported by police in the various islands via a survey,” Byron said.
In each of the countries, AG Byron said, the report indicated that “gang members were typically between the ages of 12 to 24. I know the study also has found that in some cases there are gang members as young as 9-years-old; we are talking about primary level students”.
St. Kitts and Nevis, like other countries in the sub-region and by extension the CARICOM member states, have for many years sought to grapple with the growing gun-related violence among youth.
Many regional politicians have indicated that this is a problem that has paints the CARICOM countries in a negative light, specifically pointing to the effect it can have on their dependency on tourism as an economic driver.
The AG charged that in the 2017 Appropriation Bill, his government sought to increase the budgetary allocations - to 10 percent of the overall allotment - for national security.
The projects to be implemented shortly include a multi-million CCTV project, purchase of additional equipment and the recruitment of officers for the Police Force.
“We're hoping that we can have a few more dozen police on the road,” noted Byron.
