On The Spot: Lurking in an abandoned building near you…

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – SKNVIBES conducted an extensive investigation and found that abandoned or unoccupied buildings in the Federation are havens for the most sinister – and surprising – things.

Poring over every press release from the Royal St. Kitts and Nevis Police Force between 2007 and the present day, SKNVibes found that searches of abandoned buildings overwhelmingly resulted in the seizure of illegal items. 

This appears to be why the security forces seemingly stepped up their efforts on this front in 2008 and 2009 compared to 2007. Police officers and soldiers from the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force, along with the K-9 Unit, now regularly conduct sweep and search exercises. 

A police press release issued on April 2 stated that, “Increases in firearm and drug-related offences are a direct result of Police strategy to combat this category of crime. Our efforts have resulted in increased seizures and prosecution.”

The release added that, “We expect this trend to continue, based on our new strategy of intelligence led policing through the formation of the anti-gang unit, with its intelligence arm.  We will continue to collaborate with the Defence Force and other law enforcement agencies, to combat and reduce crime.”

SKNVibes found that regular searches of unoccupied buildings overwhelmingly see no one being charged and arrested in connection with the police’s findings. This happens because at the time of a search the buildings almost always are not occupied by the criminal stashers.    

LIKE CHILDREN TO CANDY SHOPS…

Criminals stash illegal items in abandoned buildings to elude arrest. So in the event that the police execute a search warrant on a home, they will not find the culprit in possession of something that would land someone in jail.  

Also, some criminals live with unsuspecting family members who most definitely would get a clue – and the shock of their lives – upon finding drugs, guns and/or ammunition stashed away, for instance, in an underwear drawer. 

Such is the life of criminals; they run a great risk harbouring evidence of criminality in their homes. Therefore, like children to candy shops, they flock to unoccupied buildings.

This raises questions such as: should abandoned buildings be demolished to make way for structures that will improve our neighbourhoods rather than blight them, and should the police focus both electronic and ground patrol surveillance activities near these buildings so that more and more criminals can be made accountable?

THE POLICE HAVE MADE RECOMMENDATIONS

“We [in the Royal St. Kitts & Nevis Police Force] have mapped the locations of these buildings in Basseterre and have made recommendations [to the Ministry of Health] that action be taken for their demolition,” said Inspector Cromwell Henry, Press and Public Relations Officer for the Royal St. Kitts & Nevis Police Force.

He added that, “We continue to urge the owners of such premises to consider the health and security of the community and take every step to ensure that their premises do not facilitate criminal activities.”

The police inspector told SKNVibes that the law makes the provision for Government to demolish these buildings and apply the cost to the owners.

When asked to put a figure on the number of abandoned buildings across St. Kitts and Nevis, Inspector Henry said that he does not have the numbers. 

“We have not done an island-wide assessment,” he said, adding that, “The hotspots [for illegal seizures in abandoned buildings] are Newtown and McKnight, and to some extent the Village.”

WHAT SEARCH OPERATIONS FOUND IN 2007

In 2007, the police searched abandoned or unoccupied buildings and found an AK-47 Assault Rifle with 75 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition; a .38 Revolver with 15 rounds of .38 Special ammunition in Nevis, a 20-inch television and a stove, as well as drinks and other boxed items that thieves had taken from a nearby business.

The police also found a ‘Wanted’ man. 

Gunfire erupted in an abandoned building in Newtown when the ‘Wanted’ fugitive fired at police officers upon their approach. They incapacitated the man then drove him to Joseph N France General Hospital for treatment. 

The next day, June 25, police formally arrested and charged him with the offence of ‘shooting at with intent’, which he allegedly had committed on March 27, 2007.

That year, the police mostly found cannabis plants in abandoned or unoccupied buildings. They found at least 425 plants and 40 Ziploc bags of cannabis. The marijuana found at just three abandoned buildings in Sandy Point and Conaree, as well as on Cunningham Street in Basseterre had an estimated street value of more than EC$25 000.       

Police also found the bullet-ridden body of a young man in a building under construction.  Officers went to the site in the Village area after an anonymous caller tipped them off about the body.

The security forces made these finds in Conaree, ‘De Village’, Irish Town, McKnight, Newtown, Ponds Extension and Sandy Point in St. Kitts, as well as Farms Estate in Nevis. 

They found only two firearms in abandoned buildings out of the total 21 illegal firearms seized in the Federation during 2007. However, one of the weapons found in the unoccupied structures was a significant catch. 

The AK-47, which they seized in the building searched at Ponds Extension, is one of the most powerful and deadliest rifles. Developed in the Soviet Union in the 1940s, the AK-47 was designed for military combat.  

WHAT SEARCH OPERATIONS FOUND IN 2008

The police found at least 549 marijuana plants in abandoned buildings last year. 

Just two abandoned buildings – one in Basseterre and the other in Mansion Village – had stashes of marijuana whose total estimated worth was EC$6 000.

Last year, the police searched abandoned or unoccupied buildings and also found a 9mm pistol with nine rounds of ammunition; at least 36 pieces of crack cocaine with a street value of more than EC$900; a .40 Pistol with three rounds of .40 ammunition in Nevis; a .380 Semi-automatic pistol with seven rounds of ammunition wrapped in cloth beneath the floor; a silencer; an Air Rifle, and a .38 Revolver with five rounds of ammunition.

The police made these finds in the Irish Town/McKnight area, as well as in Mansion Village, the Newtown/Ponds Pasture area, Sandy Point, St. Johnston Village, and Tabernacle in St. Kitts. In Nevis, they made the finds in the Pump Road and Rawlins areas. 

During routine search operations in abandoned buildings, the police also found a bullet proof vest in an alley at St. Johnston Village.   

Although search operations result in the seizure of items that pose a threat to public safety, whenever the security forces return to the buildings for another sweep they invariably find more contraband. This highlights the daunting fact that law enforcement officials – and the public – often do not learn who are responsible for putting the bullet proof vest and the AK-47, for instance, on the streets.

Very rarely do the security forces find the culprits during a building search.

SECURITY FORCES RARELY FIND PEOPLE INSIDE

Last year, on a Saturday in January, police searched an abandoned house at Salt Pond Alley.  According to a police press release, they found a quantity of cannabis. The release continued: “As a result of the find, two 17-year-old juveniles of Upper Fiennes Avenue and Thibou Avenue along with a 15-year-old juvenile from Fort Thomas Road who were all in the house were taken into police custody.”

In early March 2008, a joint stop and search operation of the Royal St. Kitts and Nevis Police Force and the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force seized the abovementioned 36 pieces of crack cocaine at an abandoned property in Ponds Pasture. 

Used as a gambling house, that property was occupied at the time of the search. According to a press release, the occupants ran away upon entry of the security forces. No one was arrested.

A different story unfolded later in March when police searched an abandoned house in Ponds Pasture again. This time they met a group of young men inside; one of whom had a .38 Revolver and five rounds of ammunition in his pocket.

The police searched the young man then arrested and charged him for possession of firearm and ammunition. His was the ninth firearm seized for 2008.

Security forces found five firearms plus a silencer in abandoned buildings out of the total 33 illegal firearms seized in the Federation last year. 

So 15% of the illegal firearms seized in 2008 were discovered in abandoned buildings compared to 10% in 2007.

FINDINGS IN UNOCCUPIED BUILDINGS THIS YEAR

On January 6 in St. Paul’s Village, security forces found 258 marijuana plants in an abandoned building.

At Whytes Village in Cayon, they found a quantity of cannabis on January 17.

On March 4 in St. Paul’s, security forces found 300 marijuana plants.

They found a large quantity of cocaine in an abandoned property at Happy Hill, Nevis on March 28.

On May 7, search operations seized 50 marijuana plants on Millionaire Street in Basseterre.

They found three .22 rounds of ammunition in a Fort Thomas Road building on June 5.

On August 21, the police in Cayon searched a house under construction and found 85 marijuana plants, a 12 gauge shot gun and five rounds of ammunition.

Security forces seized 17 pounds of cured marijuana along with 2 500 marijuana plants and six .25 rounds of ammunition in an abandoned building. This sweep occurred in Old Road on August 26. The estimated street value of the marijuana was EC$42 500. 

On September 15, members of the Drug Unit, Special Services Unit (SSU), Anti-Gang Unit and the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force continued joint operations in the McKnight and Newtown areas. The following items were found in unoccupied premises: a quantity of marijuana; several masks; gloves; vehicle license plates; duct tape; tie straps; dark clothing, and a hooded jacket.

Such sinister findings show that abandoned buildings create opportunities for criminals.

So one US city has had enough; the first of 226 abandoned houses set for demolition – with the aid of federal stimulus funds – was torn down in Detroit this July. 

The demolition drive forms part of the Safe Routes to School initiative launched by the city, police and Detroit Public Schools.  

Here in St. Kitts and Nevis, the security forces found one firearm in their building sweeps out of the total 22 illegal firearms seized so far for 2009. 

That means 5% of the illegal firearms seized this year were discovered in abandoned buildings compared to 15% in 2008 and 10% in 2007.

CRIMINALS GET CREATIVE

The seeming decline in the illegal firearm seizure rate from abandoned building searches is perhaps a sign. 

Criminals appear to be getting more creative in light of stepped up sweep and search operations.

During this investigation, SKNVibes found several instances where security forces discovered drugs, firearms and ammunition in the yard of an apparently innocent elderly couple; in the yard of a night club; in bushes, on empty plots of land, and even under a nearby vehicle while they were executing a search.

Just this May, the police in Nevis – acting on intelligence they had gathered – recovered an illegal firearm in an empty lot of land. They found a .22 Long Rifle with a sniper scope. 

You can’t be there so SKNVibes takes you On The Spot…