Opposition party proposes a ‘Smart on Crime’ strategy

THE NEW Democratic Party (NDP) has proposed a ‘Smart on Crime’ strategy as a means of preventing and fighting crime.

A release from the Party issued on Monday said crime cannot be policed or incarcerated away and suggested a method which will see the police “applying research and best practices in developing appropriate crime fighting and prevention strategies.”

“We have expressed our willingness to work with the government and other organizations to address the problem, and we submit that a ‘Smart on Crime’ approach, which requires a collaborative and united national effort can be the only way forward to effectively combat the national crisis of crime and violence in SVG,” the release said.

“The present militaristic approach has failed, and it continues to alienate the police from the very citizens they have sworn to protect. Evidence suggests it has already created a climate in which some individuals and communities are as much afraid of the police as they are of the criminals.

“Smart on Crime will see the police applying research and best practices in developing appropriate crime fighting and prevention strategies and leading a crime prevention coalition which will include all sectors of society; drawing on the resources of civil society, communities and the business sector as they become integrated into a national crime prevention and crime fighting partnership to create a better SVG for all,” the release said.