Divisional Commander of the Southwestern Division of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF), Assistant Superintendent Nigel Butcher, has called on the residents of Layou “to resist the acts of crime and violence, to embrace love, peace and unity, and to work in partnership with the police to deal with this vexing problem.”

Assistant Superintendent Nigel Butcher speaking at the Layou Town Hall Meeting.

He was speaking at a town hall meeting at the Layou Government School on January 18, organized by the police, making it the second occasion in less than two months that he was addressing residents of the leeward town on the issue of crime and violence in the community.

At a ‘Love is the Answer’ march and rally against crime on November 24 2023, Butcher reminded residents that he condemns the acts of crime and violence taking place within the community because it is simply unacceptable.

Butcher who is also a resident of Layou, told the gathering last Thursday, “I firmly believe with all my heart that if the community and police work together, we can fix this vexing problem of crime and violence, and this town hall meeting here tonight is another step in that direction.”

Residents in attendance were told that the meeting “is not a night for speeches, so I’m not going to bore you. We want to allow you to ask questions, give suggestions, and make recommendations about how we can make this community safer, stronger, and more peaceful as we know it to be and it used to be.”

He shared some crime statistics with the audience noting that “ there was a 4.9% decrease in crime in 2023 when compared to 2022 in Layou.”

He added that there were no reported cases of murder in 2022, and prior to 2023, the last reported murder was in 2018.

“That’s how peaceful Layou has been. In 2023, however, there were five reported cases of murder. This is indeed troubling, and every effort will be made to decrease this figure.”

There were 19 reported cases of burglaries in 2022, compared to 13 in 2023; and 28 cases of theft reported in 2023, two more than the previous year.

He went on to state that for the offence of wounding, “there were 15 reports of wounding reported in 2022, and 12 in 2023, a reduction of three.”

In 2022, there were no reports of rape, however, there were four reported in 2023.

“ You might be wondering, four reported rape cases in Layou! There can be multiple rape offences recorded in one incident, and in this case, this is what happened…”.

Since the five murders in the latter half of 2023 in Layou, Butcher said the police have initiated a number of measures; “I’m sure you can attest to that.”

“You see us all the time, more than before. In the community we have increased our patrols both foot and mobile. We have increased our presence and interaction with members of the community. We give you feedback on the crimes that you report. We are more visible. We have started more school visits as planned. We have redoubled our efforts to improve our detection and investigative skills,” he noted further. Butcher however, emphasised the need for cooperation of the community in fighting crime.