BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – DEPUTY Political Leader of the People’s Action Movement (PAM) and Parliamentary Representative of Constituency Five, the Hon. Shawn Richards said the government must employ the necessary resources to achieve a decreased crime rate.
Richards was at the time commenting on statements Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil Douglas made yesterday (July 28) on ZIZ Radio Station during his weekly “Ask the Prime Minister” programme.
“Some try to be politically opportunistic by pointing out that there have been more killings in recent years in St. Kitts and Nevis than there was before. Is St. Kitts and Nevis also to be blamed for the rise in killings in Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Eastern Europe, Columbia and rural America in recent years as well?
This is a fundamental question we must ask ourselves! Clearly, both white-collar crime and increasing gun violence are global phenomena. That does not make it acceptable here in St. Kitts and Nevis, and my government has been doing all and will continue to do everything in our power in our fight against this cancer in our society,” Dr. Douglas said.
He also called on non-elected officials to do more rather than condemn.
“Unelected officials have the right to criticise and condemn, I guess. But that is enough at all. They must do more than condemn in these challenging times. They must use the enormous amount of free time on their hands to think of and implement programmes as genuinely concerned citizens to make a difference; to lead others away from lives of crime; to make drugs, violence and criminality less appealing to those who may be tempted to think that there is no other way”.
In an interview with WINN FM 98.9 yesterday, Richards said that the PM’s statements were inconsistent with the Federation’s current criminal environment.
“Crime is not being politicised by the People’s Action Movement. The fact of the matter is that the crime taking place here in St. Kitts and Nevis is real and it is also a real concern of the people of St. Kitts and Nevis. We have done several different polls…the Labour Party, they have also done several different polls, and each and every poll, according to the stats, that the number one concern of persons living in this Federation is the issue of crime. It is affecting every single man, woman and child living in this Federation.
“Almost every day you hear about an incident of crime. This morning when I woke up, I saw a text on my telephone indicating that just last evening someone was shot in their leg in my constituency in Sandy Point,” Richards said.
The Parliamentarian also declared that the government has a duty to ensure the safety of citizens in the Federation.
“They have a responsibility to protect the citizens of this Federation and, obviously, they are failing the citizens of this country. Man, woman and child are being murdered in this Federation and it has to stop, and the government, instead of saying persons politicising it, must render necessary resources to the issue of crime so that we see a decrease in crime.”
