BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, April 16, 2010 (Labour Secretariat) - All of us are concerned about the increase in criminal activity taking place in the Federation, especially the brutal taking of life by the gun.
We are all affected in one way or another, whether it is a mother and father grieving for a murdered son, or troubled over a child that has turned wayward; or the disruption of peace and harmony in communities that bemoan the tranquility that is sporadically affected by gang activity.
We are all aware that crime fighting is a challenge here in St. Kitts and Nevis and throughout the entire Caribbean region and indeed the world. The solution to solving crime has not been easy as criminals are becoming more sophisticated in their crime methods and society is being cowed not to say what they know out of fear for their lives.
The Police must be seen as confidential professionals, who are serious about their responsibilities otherwise they are a hindrance and not a help to the fight against crime.
But we cannot let down our guards in the fight against this cancer of crime that threatens to destroy the country’s economy, image and reputation, and everything that we have individually and collectively built over time.
This is not the time to try and score points by the politicizing of crime, nor is it the moment to single out the Government or any one institution to blame for the crime situation. This is a time to recognize that all of us play a major role in the fight against crime.
It is true that national security is the Government’s primary responsibility.
Government must ensure that our Security Forces are well trained and equipped to deal with solving and preventing crime; Government must also ensure that our air and sea ports are adequately protected against the illegal trafficking of guns, drugs and other substances.
The Government has been trying with its limited resources and with regional and international help to boost the skills capacity and material resources of the Security Forces. It is true that the Government is getting assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), there is an Anti-Gang Unit, closed-circuit television (CCTV) has been placed in certain crime hotspots and police officers have been receiving training, but the Government alone cannot fight crime.
The question must be asked: How did we get like this? We can all observe how there has been an erosion in moral and spiritual values in our society. People’s hearts are growing cold. Their love, respect, tolerance and other values known for properly functioning relationships are in steady decline. When our moral and spiritual values are jettisoned then we have a heartless society. We have become very materialistic and consumeristic. Some of us now value things more than people and when this happens life is cheapened.
However, it is never too late to take back our country from the hoodlums who are misguided.
This will require that all hands are on deck. Parents, teachers, pastors, guardians, church and civic organizations, politicians, doctors, lawyers, the Police and people of all walks of life are needed to rescue our country from the cancer of crime.
We can only do this by the example of love and forgiveness shown to our children and young people in general. It can only be done when we spend quality time with them and take an active interest in their lives. We cannot wait until our children are set in their ways to do this. We must steer them in the right direction now.
If we don’t do this now, we will continue to reap a society where more and more of our young people become vagabonds and waywards who terrorize our society and place additional strain on the Government and its financial and human resources.
We are all responsible in the fight against crime!
