Politicians say regionalisation is key to fighting crime
By Ryan Haas
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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(From left to right) Dr. Lionel Rawlins, Founder of the VonFredrick Group; Hon. Joseph Parry, Premier of Nevis; Dr. Hon. Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St. Kitts-Nevis; Mark Mershon, Gang Related Crime Investigator, Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Austin Williams, Commissioner of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts-LAWYERS and politicians of all persuasions showed their unity against crime at the National Consultation on Crime last week by arriving at a number of proposals to curb the epidemic in St. Kitts-Nevis including more regionalisation.
“A lot of the proposals being put forward have to do with the regionalisation of the approach in terms of intelligence gathering for fighting crime,” the presenter for the politicians and lawyers, His Lordship Justice Francis Belle said.
Among the regionalisation proposals put forward by the group was the sharing of intelligence and resources within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and wider Caribbean. Belle said that measures like this would allow law enforcement officers to feel more secure and do their jobs more effectively.
It was also agreed upon at the consultation that the establishment of an effective juvenile justice system must be given the utmost priority.
“There needs to be a proper facility for the detention of juveniles because a lot of the persons who are committing crimes are juveniles. There is reluctance on the part of judicial officers to put persons under the age of 17 in prison with hardcore, violent criminals.”
Because other countries within the OECS, including most recently Dominica, have proposed similar revisions to the “juvenile services system”, the group said that consulting regionally would once again be a vital approach.
In terms of dealing with criminals after they have been apprehended, Belle said the OECS would be attempting to streamline the prosecution process. ~~Adz:Right~~
“It was not a proposal, but it is worthwhile to mention there is an ongoing program for the criminal division of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court which will eliminate the preliminary enquiries.”
Belle explained that preliminary enquiries allow criminal defenders to waste time in the Magistrate’s Court before the case is sent to the High Court. Often times, Belle stated, these delays lead to the loss of evidence, intimidation and even the murder of key witnesses.
“There needs to be a serious attempt to determine if these enquiries serve any useful purpose anymore,” the justice said.
The politicians present at the consultation, which included ruling and opposition parties from both St. Kitts and Nevis, once again agreed that there needs to be a unified political approach to crime and violence, though no details of how that may be achieved were put forward.
“We need to see the unity of political leaders in face of the present situation,” Belle said. “Political leaders must not only talk about the problems, but must be seen as working together to achieve a general consensus. We must try to take the politics out of crime, not only in terms of the colours war but also in terms of the back and forth about what is or what is not being done.”
