BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MANY citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis, as well as some nationals in the Diaspora, have been constantly calling on the Police Force and the Government to find solutions to the murders and other serious crimes being perpetrated in the Federation.
To date, there have been 23 murders, a relatively large number of gun-related crimes, in which some people suffered injuries while others narrowly escaped, and many break-ins as well as robberies.
Some people may say that there have been 24 murders, taking into consideration the shooting-death of 17-year-old Philo Wallace. But we have to remember that, according to law, it has to be recorded as a homicide until the investigation is completed and proven different.
In an effort to combat the serious crime and related situations, on Wednesday (Nov. 11) the Government had launched a Criminal Justice Strategy Board (CJSB) at the Police Training Complex in Basseterre, where Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris distributed Instruments of Appointment to the 15-member body.
Heading the CJSB is Attorney-General Senator Vincent Byron Jr. with members from St. Kitts being Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Arudranauth Gossai, Commander of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Wallace, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ian Queeley, Acting Superintendent of Prisons Ashiela Connor, Chief Fire Officer Everette O’Garro, Comptroller of Customs Georid Belle, Director of New Horizons Adele Williams, Director of Probation and Child Protection Services Debra Matthew, Chief Education Officer Dr. Tricia Esdaille, and Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit and Jacqueline Somersall-Berry.
The Board members from Nevis are Police Prosecutor Inspector Steven Hector, former Police Officer Lynnel Nolan, Attorney-at-Law Heidi Sutton, and former Fire Officer David Hendrickson.
Following the announcement of the launching of the CJSB, some people were questioning its purpose, while an individual seeking to know “if all members of the Board had studied the Criminal Justice System and what are their qualifications”.
From this backdrop, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Osmond Petty explained that th ise establishment of the CJSB was not previously mentioned as one of the activities in the Police Six-Point Plan, but it is not a strategy that involves the police only.
“Obviously this is not something that the police alone will be implementing, but it is part of the big picture in terms of what is being done. What we said in the Six-Point Plan is that under collaboration with other agencies, we will establish the Criminal Justice Strategic Board to develop protocol with the Judiciary to ensure that backlog of certain cases are disposed of in a timely manner, to bring perpetrators to justice speedily and enforcement of curfews.”
He declared that the CJSB is charged with doing that and much more.
However, in his address, Senator Byron provided a more detailed account for the establishment of the CJSB.
“The Criminal Justice System is made up of a number of entities. Each plays a different role in a system designed to address the communities' expectations that people who break the law are punished and face appropriate consequences, and that victims of crime are treated with respect and sensitivity.”
The Attorney-General explained that the Criminal Justice System begins with the police through the apprehension of an alleged offender and ends with the rehabilitation of a convict while at Her Majesty’s Prison.
“When a crime is committed and the alleged offender is apprehended, the Criminal Justice System commences operation. It is a continuum along which the alleged will travel with the point of departure and destination, dependent upon their innocence or guilt and the nature of their crime.”
He said that in addition to the Police Force, the Judiciary and the Correctional Service, the Defence is also part of the continuum, noting that “all of these impact upon how we treat with and deal with the Criminal Justice System”.
Senator Byron asserted that the Criminal Justice System would be striving to make communities safer by protecting the public and it would also attempt to reduce crime by being actively involved in the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners back in society.
He also gave an insight to the Government’s interest in the Criminal Justice System and what it hopes to achieve.
“As a Government, we have to be very conscious that we manage and monitor what happens in the Criminal Justice System. We are to develop and implement policies and, ultimately, we have to go to Parliament, having drafted Laws that would improve on existing Laws; strengthening, as it was, the very systems by which we want to manage crime in our society.
“If we have to improve, make more efficient the Criminal Justice System, we must consider how we reform it. And no priority can be afforded to any one agency or any element of the Criminal Justice System. We have to ask and we must insist that we have to view the Criminal Justice System as a whole and to reconsider the system from every perspective. The whole of the Criminal Justice System must be seen therefore as any one part of the sum of its parts so that we in the Criminal Justice System Board are mandated to have a holistic view of the Criminal Justice System.”
The Attorney-General however admitted that the Government has to improve on the service delivery, noting that it must be fair and just.
“We must work to increase public confidence in the Criminal Justice System. Obviously, we have to work very hard at improving the efficiency of the Criminal Justice System. Where possible, we have to work to reduce cost of the system and to constantly build improvements in the capability of the system,” he added.
Over the years, many alleged offenders were remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison for very long period before their cases were heard. Also a relatively large number of individuals had successfully filed suits against the Attorney-General and the Commissioner of Police after being exonerated at Preliminary Hearings because of lack of evidence, among other factors, which had cost the Government large sums of money.
To this end, Senator Byron said they have to be very conscious of justice for victims and witnesses and their involvement in the system as well, adding that it is an area to which the Government must pay considerable attention.
He declared that there are some challenges in the Criminal Justice System that the Government is currently faced with.
Byron explained that among those challenges are the time it takes for matters to be dispensed of by the Courts and the number of people on remand in prison awaiting trial, which he pointed out would be unacceptable by them.
He said: “The system must be more effectively working to reduce this number of people on remand so that people who are held by the prison can have their matters tried quickly, be sentenced quickly and be dispensed of”, which would cause them to think that the Government has a proper Criminal Justice System.
He emphasised that “a fair and just system underpins a strong and resilient society”.
In furtherance of the question asked about the purpose of the CJSB, a Memorandum of Understanding entered into by the 15 members states that “the CJSB is dedicated to keeping people safe, reducing and preventing crime, bringing offenders to justice, reintegrating offenders into society at a lower risk of reoffending and utilising its shared resources efficiently and in the Federation’s best interests”.
The MOU also dictates that the CJSB shall:
• Consider itself accountable collectively for reducing crime and improving citizen and visitor safety in the Federation;
• Develop action plans to collectively reduce and prevent crime, reduce the fear of crime and improve public safety;
• Share their collective resources and expertise in order to improve the professional standards of all staff engaged in Criminal Justice activities;
• Share information to improve communication between agencies and the communities of the Federation; and
• Share and utilise fully the collective resources in order to improve the efficiency of the Criminal Justice sector.
However, to the individual who asked “if all members of the Board had studied the Criminal Justice System and what are their qualifications”, this writer did not find it appropriate to seek answers to those questions when it is known that they are all certified and qualified for the position they hold in their respective agencies that make up the CJSB.
