Bullet proof vests worth EC40,000 donated to Nevis Police Division
By Pauline Waruguru
Nevis Reporter-SKNVibes.com
Charlestown, Nevis: The private sector in Nevis through the Nevis Crime Initiative (NCI), yesterday donated 23 bullet proof vests valued EC$40,000 to the Nevis Police Division at a ceremony held at the grounds of the Museum of Nevis History.
The ceremony took place amidst panic in Charlestown after Leon “Gravo” Westerman, 28, died in a shooting incident that took place on Monday night.
NIC Chairperson, Stephen Walwyn, said all stakeholders needed to be involved in combating crime as tackling crime was a huge task. He said the Police needed to be well equipped as they were in the forefront of the crime-fighting effort. He said an additional 20 bullet proof vests will be shipped at a later date.
The Premier of Nevis, Joseph Parry, who handed over the donated bullet proof vests to Superintendent of Police and Head of the Nevis Division, Samuel Seabrookes, said he was disappointed with the support Nevis gets from St. Kitts regarding the crime-fighting effort in Nevis. Parry alleged that crimes in Nevis are committed by Kittitians. ~~Adz:Right~~
He called on St. Kitts to make surveillance cameras available to the Nevis Division. “It is upsetting that somebody was shot,” Parry lamented. While he greatly appreciated the efforts of the private sector through NIC he called on parents especially fathers to mentor their boy children. Parry is convinced that parents have abandoned their boy children and concentrated on girl children.
As a result, he said, some boys have no regard for human life. Earlier, the Premier called on the Police to use the power given to them by the constitution to close down “pleasure houses” if the houses were breeding criminals.
Seabrookes, Superintendent of the Police said the vests will give Police officers a sense of pride. “Compared to other forces, we are not properly equipped to be a modern force. With limited resources, we are doing remarkably well.”
Walwyn said NIC existed to strengthen linkages between Police and the community. He explained that NIC was a civil society intervention that was looking at preventative strategies that focus on all facets of criminal life including the juvenile justice system.
One way the stakeholders could succeed in establishing sustainable systems to combat crime, he said, was keeping politics out of the crime-fighting.
“I am supposed to be afraid when I say that,” he quipped adding that those who have enlisted in the initiative would be aggressive and courageous, “We are not backing down.” He likened the challenges that NIC has to grapple with to that met by biblical David when he fought Goliath.
In June 2007, NIC held a stakeholders high profile convention where crime was discussed broadly. Walwyn said NIC would keep the powers that be on their toes and hold the government accountable.
Dan McMullan, a former defence attorney and a member of the NCI anti-crime committee said crime is a scourge in any given community. He noted that as a defence attorney, he had been privileged to have an insight into the world of crime.
He said the modern criminals no longer felt threatened by the presence of a Police officer in uniform thus modern equipment was required to enable the Police to fight the modern criminals. He was optimistic that the bullet proof vests would go along way in giving the Police officers confidence.
He however said he hoped there would be no crime that necessitates the use of the vests but said should Police officers need to protect themselves, the bullet proof vests can absorb blows and cutlasses.
Photos: Members of the Nevis Crime Initiative donated 23 bullet proof vests to Nevis Police Division at a ceremony held at the Museum of Nevis History grounds.
