BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A group of young people from Lower Cayon is accusing officers of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force of being bias in the execution of their duty.
The group, today (Jul. 2), visited SKNVibes and its spokesperson, who on condition of anonymity, claimed that a war currently exists between two gangs in their village – one from Upper Cayon and the other from Lower Cayon.
“Over the past few months, there has been an uprising in the Cayon area in terms of gun-related criminal activities. These events have since resulted in the death of two individuals and injury to at least two others. And not only have the events left many family members and friends of the victims traumatised, but the wider community of Cayon.
“The police alleged that the gun activities are gang-related. It is also alleged that these gangs originate from both the Upper and Lower parts of Cayon. The issue, however, is due to the trend which the police have since made in arresting and charging persons suspected of committing these crimes. This trend is one of bias,” the group’s leader said.
The leader noted that, so far, all those arrested and charged for the gun-related incidents are residents of Lower Cayon, while there are others from Upper Cayon who are alleged to have made significant contributions to the crimes.
“As concerned citizens, we raise the question…’Why are only the young men of Lower Cayon being charged with these crimes, while the bad boys of Upper Cayon are left to parade our streets at night to continuously shoot people?’”
The group is of the view that the police are bias in their decisions relating to who they arrest and charge for the shooting incidents committed in Cayon.
“The police also seem to be making arrests based on hear say and dem say, rather than performing their jobs correctly and do proper investigations,” one member added.
The group, on behalf of the Lower Cayon community, is urging the authorities to conduct thorough investigations in order to arrest, charge and successfully prosecute the violators from Upper Cayon “just as they have been arresting and charging the young men of Lower Cayon”.
“It is time that the police stop acting as if they are being bribed to make arrests. The performance of the Cayon police has been of great dissatisfaction; for their decisions so far have been reflecting nothing but bias in the benefit of Upper Cayon gang members and shooters,” the group’s leader said.
The leader also questioned: “If the gun crime activity is alleged to be gang-related and these gangs are said to be from the Upper and Lower parts of Cayon, why are only persons from the Lower Cayon area being charged with these shootings?”
The group opined that the police’s behavior has made it difficult for residents of Lower Cayon to trust them, as the names of gunmen/shooters from Upper Cayon have since flooded the streets, similar to those of Lower Cayon.
“The only difference is that the alleged shooters, whose names are mentioned as responsible from Upper Cayon, are not being arrested nor charged,” another member said
The group indicated that residents of Lower Cayon are pleading for equality.
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