Former Minister engages community on crime and violence

By Melissa Bryant
Reporter~SKNVibes.com

photo compliments SKNIS

The discussion was organised by the St. Kitts National Youth Parliament Association (SKYNPA) as a follow-up activity to their National Crime Symposium held on Wednesday, September 24.

Representatives from the medical and nursing community, security and electronic surveillance industry, ministries of education and consumer affairs, and several interested youths were present at the discussion to interact with the former minister of government.

Astaphan began his scripted speech by declaring that “the blame [for the escalating crime and violence] must be laid at [the people’s] doorsteps because they dropped the ball”. He pointed to a meeting he conducted with leaders of the local gang community in August as reinforcement of his assertion.

“Our children are not being properly managed, guided and cared for. The gang leaders themselves said that these children gravitate towards the gangs because they want the love and the attention that their families are not giving them. The gang has stepped into the vacuum left by family,” said Astaphan.

He noted several initiatives that he had undertaken during his tenure as Minister of National Security, including the Circle of Peace and the Men in Schools programme.

Astaphan described the Circle of Peace programme, in which he encouraged local business to employ juvenile offenders on a part-time basis, as “a way for our misguided and troubled youth to operate in an organised setting so they can realise that there is an honest way to make a living”.

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“Similarly, the Men in Schools programme, which aimed to have men of standard and character in the local community visit the schools for an hour every two to three weeks, was another effort through which young boys could develop positive relations with males.

But, unfortunately, the response to these programmes by the private sector and the male role models was quite poor,” he added.

Astaphan also addressed the issue of the generally unfavourable public opinion of the police force that pervades the nation.
“The police force is a product of the community.

 I admit that their training needs to be more extensive to include areas such as professionalism, but I also think that the community should realise that they have a role to play in combating crime...and until they are cognisant of this we cannot move forward on crime,” he warned.

SKNYPA President Azilla Clarke noted that the group was committed to “doing whatever it could in the short, medium and long-term to reduce and prevent incidences of crime” and encouraged the community, the government, the public and private sector, and other key stakeholders to form linkages and work together to make St. Kitts a safer and more secure nation.