Religious community offers proposals on crime
Calls for unity among all parties

By Melissa Bryant
Reporter~SKNVibes.com

~~Adz:Right~~BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PASTORS, ministers and preachers have voiced a number of solutions that they believe could be instrumental in reducing crime and violence as well as gang-related incidences being experienced in St. Kitts and Nevis.

These recommendations were aired at the National Crime Consultation held at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and Royal Beach Casino on Friday, December 12.

Stakeholders were classified into groups according to their area of expertise, and for the purposes of the Consultation the religious community constituted Group Number Two.

The group suggested that the religious fraternity in St. Kitts should be separated into zones, instead of a National Christian Council, and charged with the responsibility for outreach in their various communities.

The members suggested seven zones which would comprise of Cayon to Lodge; Basseterre, Conaree and Camps; St. Peter’s and Shadwell; West Farm to Halfway Tree; Newton Ground to Dieppe Bay; Saddlers to Bellevue; and Tabernacle to Molineux.

Group representative Bernard Latus stated that the religious community within each zone would be responsible for the spiritual and overall well-being of the persons living in those areas.

“We need to be present in an informal way and to let our parishioners know that they can come to us to air their troubles. The religious community cannot just go to the victims of families and pray with them; that is not enough. We need to go a step further and visit the families with troubled youths, misguided youths who need the influence of the church in order to get back on the right path,” he said.

He also noted the need to reach out to fathers and to help them become better role models for their children.

“We can insist that they’re present at their child’s christening and we can offer parenting classes for both mother and father during and after pregnancies,” Latus suggested.

He stressed that the youth should be made a priority and recommended that legislation should be introduced to reduce noise on weekend nights, as people have to go to church on the next day.

The grouping also called for political leaders, the private and public sectors, and civil society as well as non-governmental organisations to work together in unity to combat crime and gang violence.