Calls on Government to declare war on pedophiles and rapists
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – COMMISSIONERS OF POLICE of Anguilla, St. Maarten and St. Kitts and Nevis came in for high praise from former Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Patrick Martin for their openness in the existence of contract killings, among other criminal acts, within the three countries.
Dr. Martin’s praise for the Top COPs came in light of what were expressed at a recently held meeting in the Customs Conference Room, where those in attendance included representatives from the British National Crime Agency, US Drug Enforcement Agency, SKN Ministry of National Security, SKN Defence Force and SKN Immigration Department.
Within his address, Acting Commissioner of Police Hilroy Brandy said: “We have seen persons coming out of St Maarten, coming from Anguilla to do jobs for members of the gangs here in St Kitts and vice versa. Members of the gangs from St. Kitts flew to St Maarten and Anguilla and do hits for hire. In fact, a few of the gang members are incarcerated in St Maarten”.
Anguilla’s Commissioner of Police Paul Morrison also alluded to the fact that contract killing exists on that island.
“We do endorse that we do think there are contracted hits. We have at least three murders in Anguilla, which we linked to contracted persons being hired to carry out although not all successfully.”
To this end, Dr. Martin said such phenomena are nothing new, but “the openness of the Top Cops is. Their honesty ought to be a springboard for real action”.
“When Commissioners of Police speak, they do so (or ought to) from the standpoint of intelligence. Accordingly, what they said proves that sound information has been and is available to our political directorates,” he added.
He continued: “Our Cabinet has to move with alacrity because threats to development are not only exogenous, but homegrown. One stray bullet will send our 1.1 million visitors scurrying to other destinations.”
The Paediatrician and Physician Executive has also called on the tri-party Government to generate an emergency response to the gang problem.
“Now that the Top Cop has told us what Cabinet knows, and with the Faith Community recently adding their pastoral weight, I expect government to engender an all-party emergency response to suppress existing gangs and their trafficking businesses. Measures should include removal of prohibitions demonizing Cannabis, and a vigorous assault on modern-day slavery, i.e. the trafficking of girls, boys and women for the sex trade.”
He also said that the Government has to act now to reduce the supply of recruits for the gang culture, pointing out that they are the boys and girls who are unsupervised and sexually abused, and that they are typically the products of unplanned/unwanted pregnancies.
“What is done to children, they will do to society’, so said the late American psychiatrist, Dr. Karl Menninger. Our African ancestors powerfully stated, ‘The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth’. In other words, in St. Kitts and Nevis, we have sown the wind with rape and we continue to reap a whirlwind of violence. In 2019, 25-30 little girls will become mothers,” Dr. Martin lamented.
He stressed that the Government has to declare war against pedophiles and rape, and in so doing “money should be diverted from frivolous and vexatious intentions to bolster Child Protection and the prevention and prosecution of sexual offenses”.
The former CMO opined that taxpayers could agree to allocate their taxes to programmes proven to constructively engage young people, adding that the paltry $7.2M budget for Youth, Sports and Culture should be doubled or tripled.
He said the money for such programmes could be derived from the scores of people who are pretending to be poor are the recipients of $500 per month.
“And what about the tens of millions being spent to prosecute court cases because of ill-will and hatred?” he added. “That money that should go to ensuring all secondary schools have robust programmes in Creative Arts, Performing Arts, Military Arts, Trades and Sports.”
