Members of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force have been given vehicles, as the organization steps up its fight with gun related and other types of crime in the country.{{more}}
The police received four double cab pickup trucks, which Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said cost a total of $400,000.
Gonsalves said that the contribution to the police came following a recent meeting with senior officials of the force, including Commissioner of Police Michael Charles.
âI insisted that certain things additional should be done. I wasn’t going to tell the police what additional things they must do, but additional things must be done and I want to find out what additional things they were thinking about doing.
âThe very morning when I had the meeting, I said ‘tell me also what you want from me.’ Well there were several things and, among them, he said ‘I need right now four more double cab vehicles.’ I said ‘who has double cabs right now to purchase,’ and they tell me who they checked out, they say $400,000 and I said fine,â Gonsalves related to the media Monday, during a press conference.
The vehicles are being used to provide increased police patrols and presence in a number of areas where there had been shootings and gun related deaths in recent months.
To date, the majority of homicides recorded for the year have been gun related.
The Prime Minister listed a number of causes for the criminal activity taking place in St Vincent and the Grenadines, and pointed out that the authorities are doing their part in curbing crime.
âAs I’ve stated before, we live in a dangerous neighbourhood.
âWe have cocaine coming in; we are one of several trans-shipment points in the Caribbean. We may not be the major trans-shipment point. A lot of resources have been spent to stem the flow of cocaine coming from South Americaâ¦
âAnd then also we are in a dangerous neighbourhood because of small arms. We don’t produce small arms, but we will have to deal with measures.
âAnd then of course, undoubtedly the freedom of movement within CARICOM; The automatic six months stay has created some problems⦠and then we have our own home-grown criminals and some times we may have people coming legitimately on business on the face of it who are in here for illegitimate business.
âAnd we have to be on their cases too; and some cases we quietly would deport and so on and so forth; then we have to be very concerned in addition with our communities and the tourists we have the medical schools and we have to put particular places where we have our patrols and so on, but still there is nothing like the vigilance of the people them selves,â Gonsalves added.(JJ)
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