BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – “HE was in my bedroom and I didn’t know,” said CeCe, who does not want her real name used in this story.
CeCe is fearful, justifiably.
Within a span of three years, her house has been broken into twice.
The second incident was about a year and a half ago on a weekend between 12:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. There were three men.
She stood face-to-face with one of them. He did not wear a mask.
One of them took the longest knife from the kitchen
The point of entry for probably the smallest man among them was the kitchen. There, he removed a mesh, which posed the only barrier between him and an open window.
Another point of entry was a door whose knob and deadbolt were dismantled.
Once inside the house, one of them took the longest knife from the kitchen and went upstairs to the master bedroom, where she was sleeping.
Her husband, too, was sleeping but in the living room, and lightly. He went there to relax while a cool breeze wafted through the kitchen window he had opened in an attempt to remove the scent of recent cooking.
“My husband heard something drop and he got up to look,” she said. “He saw two persons running away. When he came into the bedroom to tell me, we thought that was the end of that.”
The shadow on the wall told a different story
But there were clothes and bags strewn on the bedroom floor, and the shadow on the wall that CeCe’s husband pointed out to her told a different story. There was surely more drama to come.
Her husband sidled up to the intruder. He was cowering between the headboard and bedroom window. Cece stood behind her husband.
“My husband told him to get out from behind the head of the bed,” Cece said, adding that, “He got out from behind the bed. I was standing between the bed and the bathroom and my husband was standing in the passage where the thief would have to get out. So he was kind of cornered. When he realised this, he started making stabbing motions.”
At that point, Cece’s husband grabbed a pillow, placed it defensively over his face and backed out of the bedroom door. As soon as her husband got out, he ran for his baseball bat. Cece’s husband – with bat in hand – pursued the burglar, who fled when the man of the house fell while running after him. The robber escaped with her wedding ring, a phone, and some money.
They filed a report with the police. “That same morning, there were about two other robberies in Bird Rock [where Cece and her husband live],” said Cece. “So the police were busy up that side. They came quickly.”
Police: Crimes against property are our greatest problem
Here in St. Kitts and Nevis, house break-ins accounted for 116 incidents (26%) out of the 441 total recorded incidents of major crime between January and March 2009 (House Break-in and Larceny or House Break-in with Intent).
House break-in offences made up the second largest category of major crime between January and March. The largest category of major crime was Larceny, for which there were 117 reported incidents. (Source: St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force).
When the two largest categories of major crime [House Break-ins and Larceny] are combined, the reported house break-in and larceny incidents represent 53% of all reported incidents of major crime between January and March.
These statistics offer a glimpse into the scope of house break-in and larceny offences in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Take the fact that the third largest category of major crime between January and March was Possession of Controlled Drugs, for which there were 40 incidents recorded. When one compares these 40 detected cases of drug possession to the 233 recorded house break-in and larceny incidents between January and March, it is clear that six times more house break-in and larceny offences were recorded than were detected cases of drug possession.
Consider, too, that 90 days fell between January and March, and that there were 98 cases of House Break-in and Larceny and 18 cases of House Break-in with Intent. That averages out to at least one house break-in per day in St. Kitts and Nevis for the first three months of 2009.
Such statistics expose a dirty little secret that threatens to strip St. Kitts and Nevis of accolades, which hail the two islands as an idyllic Federation; one that “is entering a new chapter as the hottest second-home destination in the Caribbean.” [USA Today - Second Homes: In St. Kitts and Nevis, beauty’s unspoiled, and so is the economy]
“With regard to the statistics, we’ve been always bringing to the public’s attention that crimes against property are our greatest problem, and continue to provide tips to keep their property safe,” Press and Public Relations Officer for the Royal St. Kitts & Nevis Police Force, Inspector Cromwell Henry told SKNVibes.
Inspector Henry said the police highlighted this point at their last press conference during the first quarter of the year because, as he put it, persons seem to believe that murders and gang violence are our most prevalent crimes.
“And they are not,” he said. “They represent a very small fraction of the total crimes committed,” the police inspector added.
Inspector Henry said the police encourage homeowners to install electronic alarm systems. They also recommend that homeowners improve the level of lighting on their premises and properly secure doors and windows.
“A lot of times, persons are just lucky enough to meet the door or window open and they just walk in,” Henry said, adding that, “So if persons were to pay more attention to the security of their homes, that would reduce a lot of crime.”
Inspector Henry continued: “I can give you a good example. There was an attempted break-in last night [Tuesday, July 28] at a home in Shadwell after one o’ clock in the morning. The person began to pick the lock and, as the door was opened, the alarm inside the house went off. Of course, the burglar was scared away. He ran away. He did not bother to follow through on the attack.
“Had there not been an alarm system at that home, he would have entered the home and God knows what he would have done because there was a lone female there in the house. So she was saved by the burglar alarm system. She was awoken by the alarm. When she went to the door, she saw the person running away.”
There isn’t anywhere in the world that this doesn’t happen
“I think clearly the whole issue of security is becoming more and more a topic of discussion for prospective homeowners, existing homeowners, and commercial building owners,” said renowned local architect Victor Williams, owner of Williams Architectural.
“That is, introducing security mechanisms into the building or designing a building which is more reflective of security considerations. The systems that are now being put in place are relatively inexpensive and I think that is one way to go. Once a potential home breaker knows that you have a system in your house, it acts as a strong deterrent. A good old dog is also a deterrent,” he added.
Williams said one of the harsh realities is that petty crime follows development. He makes the argument used by development theorists; that is, as people are exposed to both rapid progress and their neighbours’ advances in wealth, they become more covetous and bent on acquiring those same means. Sometimes, people pursue these material gains by whatever means necessary. So development theorists cite envy (of the apparent spending power of tourists) and crime as negative socio-cultural impacts of tourism.
“There isn’t anywhere in the world that this doesn’t happen,” Williams added.
Victor Williams stressed that the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is indeed a favourite spot to build a second home because the local housing market possesses superior attributes.
“I do work with the Eastern Caribbean Home Mortgage Bank, which allows me to visit every single OECS country and look at them from a professional point of view in terms of houses,” the architect said, adding that, “I have been to every last one of them over the last 10 years, and there is no doubt in my mind that we [in the Federation] have a better housing stock, a newer housing stock, and excellent designs that are very attractive.
“Over the last 15 years, this country has been on a very aggressive housing programme, where quite a few thousand new homes have been built. The new housing stock is also more hurricane-ready because many of the latest design configurations for hurricane preparedness are incorporated into the designs.”
Tourist murders during break-in cost one island more than EC$1M last year
To be sure, other Caribbean islands are also challenged by house break-ins.
In nearby Antigua, Golden Grove is one residential area that is suffering from regular house break-ins. One such break-in occurred on Sunday, June 7 around 4:00 a.m. when a masked gunman roused a family from their sleep.
However, according to the Caribarena Antigua & Barbuda news site, “before further harm came their way, the eldest male in the household attacked the intruder with a cutlass.” The owner of that house reportedly said she was tired of the constant break-ins in the Golden Grove community. As a result, she told the media she was thinking seriously about moving.
On Tuesday, June 16, a www.caribarena.com reader commented online about the police that, “One would think that they are smart enough to hang out in the Golden Grove area. You know…that area where all the rapes and house break-ins take place every day.”
Golden Grove in Antigua is a 10-minute drive from Bolans, the neighbourhood where the Cocos Hotel is located.
On Sunday, July 27 last year, 31-year-old British newlyweds Ben and Catherine Mullany were shot during a suspected robbery in their Cocos Hotel cottage.
Mrs. Mullany died instantly. Her husband died one week later.
According to published reports, Antigua tourism officials believe the ensuing negative publicity cost them more than $1 million ECD last year.
Are the local media reporting on the house break-in problem enough?
I said to Inspector Henry: “I don’t get a sense from the media that house break-ins are as big an issue as they are. I think if the media publicised this more, more people would be aware and potentially there could be fewer successful break-ins. How would you assess the media’s performance when it comes to publicising this big problem?”
In response, Inspector Henry said that, “I believe the media can play a greater role in highlighting this particular problem. I don’t think that the media is as aggressive in reporting on these types of crime as they are in reporting crimes of violence. If they were to be as aggressive in reporting these crimes against property as they are in reporting crimes against the person then I am sure the problem would be appreciated more.”
I followed up with, “But, with that said though, was the attempted break-in last night [Tuesday] made known to the media?”
The police press and public relations officer said, “The thing is, the media would call to ask about a shooting that they heard occurred last night, but they would never call to ask about a break-in that they heard about. They would call to ask about a murder, a wounding, or a shooting. They would ask about these things. They would never ask about break-ins.”
Inspector Henry added, “So unless you tell them, they would not ask.”
I followed up: “The media are basically the gatekeepers. They decide what topics people will focus upon. With that in mind then, would the police consider releasing information daily, or making available a police blotter or something to say that ‘this happened today’?”
I pointed out to Inspector Henry that in the United States, for instance, a police blotter – a daily record of incidents such as arrests or crimes – is made available for journalists to pore over in police stations.
In fact, the New York University’s (NYU) Journalism Handbook for Students describes the police blotter as “an obvious source that is publicly available.” Another New York City journalism school, the Columbia University School of Journalism also promotes the police blotter as a valuable source of information for students when they are covering the crime beat.
Inspector Henry said that no such police blotter is made available to media practitioners in St. Kitts and Nevis.
“Maybe we [the police] have to take some of the blame in [not] sending out that particular information,” Inspector Henry said.
He added: “But a lot of the times, the victims do not like the publicity because it attracts some attention to them. Statistics have shown that persons are more likely to be robbed a second time, or their house is more likely to be burglarised a second time within one year than a person whose house has never been burglarised. So drawing that attention to themselves, or to the fact that their home has been burglarised, will sometimes attract other persons with similar [criminal] propensities.”
I followed up with: “Of course, I would never encourage you to tell the media which house. You would have to protect certain information. But, I think just to put this issue of house break-ins on the agenda, maybe you should give regular updates about it because I was really blown away by the statistics. I really didn’t realise that this was as big a problem as it is. And maybe people might consider adding an additional deadbolt, turning on a light here or there, and acting a bit differently, knowing that in the first three months there were at least 90-something house break-ins and there were only 90 days in the first three months.”
In response to Inspector Henry’s statements, Stanford Conway, SKNVibes’ Editor-in-Chief, said that, “Contrary to Inspector Henry’s assumptions, as far as I know, there is no journalist in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis that is clairvoyant.
“Therefore, whenever there is a homicide or a house break-in incident that resulted in injury to the occupants, only then would the police inform the media by means of press releases. But, media practitioners would only call to find out about house break-ins when they would have been informed by the victims. Otherwise, the police remain mum.”
Conway added that, “It is therefore recommended that the police provide the media with daily updates on crime in the Federation when or if committed.”
Hester Rawlins to SKNVibes: That’s when I realised people are not serious about crime
In relation to Conway’s point about the police only notifying the media when something goes awry, take the March 24, 2009 press release the police force issued titled “Police Prevented Breaking”.
The press release, which is posted on www.police.gov.kn stated that: “At about 5:45 a.m. on March 24th, 2009, a police officer was on Frigate Bay Road when he noticed an intruder attempting to break into the residence of Mr. Hester Rawlins. The Officer attempted to apprehend the intruder and in the process there was a struggle which resulted in the intruder sustaining gunshot injuries. The Emergency Medical Services was summoned as well as the District Medical Officer, who pronounced the intruder dead. He was subsequently identified as Clive Lake alias Mac, 37 year old of Lodge Village. Investigations are ongoing.”
In an exclusive interview with SKNVibes on Wednesday, July 29, Hester Rawlins, the Chief Fire Officer, said he left his house that morning about 10 minutes before five o’ clock.
“While I was on my exercise, I received a telephone call,” Rawlins said. “As a result of that call, I returned to my home and saw a dead man on the eastern side of my house in my yard. He was lying on his back, motionless, with a number of police officers there. That wasn’t more than three or four feet from the eastern side of the house.”
Rawlins said his house was not equipped with a security system.
He said that, unlike his family, he was not traumatised by the incident. “It didn’t bother me and that’s a fact. It didn’t bother me because of my [police] training.” Rawlins said he joined the police force in 1978 and spent 23 successful years there. He was an instructor at the police training school from 1983 to 1999.
Rawlins continued: “But I can tell you it affected my family. My family was very traumatised including my children and especially my wife, who was at home when I left the morning.”
He dismissed the rumour that the deceased man used to work for him. “The first time I had ever seen that man was when he was dead. I had never seen him before. So he was not somebody that I knew.”
Rawlins said that, “Unless my wife or I give anybody permission to enter my yard, they are intruders, or unless they are members of the law with a warrant or something. So that is why it wasn’t a bother to me. I did not give him permission. My wife said, because I can’t speak for her, she didn’t give him permission. So he became an intruder.”
He said the incident was a wake-up call for a number of reasons. For one, Rawlins said he no longer leaves his house so early in the morning.
But also, Hester Rawlins said, “That’s when I realised that people are not serious about crime in St. Kitts because if an intruder comes on my property, on my property – I own it – and the intruder is dead, everybody is concerned about the intruder.
“But what about me who would have banked so much money every month for my property? What about me? It is not easy. So from this incident, I have put everything together that people are not serious. They just want to make politics out of everything.”
