BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Federation is facing a grave situation where it has recorded 13 unsolved murders. The temptation – to which many have yielded – is to lay blame for this low rate of detection squarely at the feet of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) with responsibility for Crime, Joseph Liburd, has explained that the police could not and ought not to be blamed for the unsolved cases. He however noted that the solvability of most crimes depends on the presentation of evidence before a court of law, and many people who might have witnessed these crimes are reluctant to appear in court.
The ACP said the murders remain unsolved not because they are unaware of who the perpetrators are, but based on the fact that “we have not yet had enough evidence to arrest anybody for these 13 murders. Cases in which we only have the information or intelligence would not be enough to take to a court of law”.
Liburd expressed his total disagreement with the belief that the crimes are unsolved because of the police’s lackadaisical nature or because they incapable of doing so.
“I would disagree with that because the police can only solve the crime once we have the evidence. If persons are not willing to give evidence, we cannot solve the crimes unless there is some form of scientific evidence. In the absence of scientific evidence, unless persons who witness the crime will give that evidence or the accused persons admitting to the crime, no matter how skilled or trained, or no matter which specialist from any part of the world dealing with that crime, it will remain unsolved.”
As he has done on countless occasions in the past, Liburd encouraged that persons “take the power from the criminals” and do their part in fighting crime and violence in St. Christopher and Nevis.
“I am encouraging people who witness crime to be willing to give evidence against the perpetrators of those crimes. Because, if we fail to do so, we are making ourselves prisoners in our own homes and we would not like others who witness crimes against us not to give evidence."
