It’s time for an anti-crime co-ordinator

Fri, Jul 29. 2011

Editor: Yesterday morning I was awakened by a phone call from my friend in St. Kitts. He called to inform of an attempted robbery at a Villa night club, where one of the crooks was shot to death in self-defence. He also informed that the police had already apprehended the other three, who fled the scene.{{more}}

The escalation in crime in SVG and the sophistication with which criminals operate is now becoming a threat to progress and development in SVG.

Here we have the most effective Prime Minister in our nation’s history, with a government we can all be proud of. The vision, the plans and the programmes are all commendable, given the global economic reality. But violence and crime, which only Commissioner Keith Miller seems to think are under control, threaten to destroy everything the Comrade and Vincentians have fought so hard to build over the past ten years.

We cannot fault Vincentians as they believe they are fast becoming prisoners in their own homes – day and night. We cannot fault foreigners who could soon become apprehensive about SVG as a tourist destination or a place for trade and investment.

By the time this commentary hits my FaceBook Page, my fellow ULP supporters (and others) will start attacking me for “over-reacting” and criticising our government. But please permit me to “over-react” some more, as I offer a few concrete suggestions to arrest the out-of-hand crime situation in SVG.

As I see it, presently we lack focus, strategy, resources and coordination in our approach to the fight against crime.

Thanks to the vision, planning and creativity of the Comrade, our international airport will soon become a reality. We have in place one of the most progressive foreign policies in the world. The recent global financial meltdown did not seem to halt our social and economic development, as had been anticipated. It’s time for De Comrade to put that same vision, focus, coordination and creativity into the fight against crime. The resources will be found. Trust De Comrade.

This (crime) phenomenon is not unique to SVG. So we need to look at how other developed countries are approaching their fight against the scourge of crime and violence.

For starters, we need a more scientific approach. Appoint a Crime Coordinator, with an urgent and long-term crime reduction mandate. If we cannot immediately access foreign aid for this, cut spending in every department – save and except health, social services and airport – by five percent, and divert those resources to the Crime Coordinator’s office.

In this new strategy, the work of the Consultant in the Ministry of National Security will be undertaken by the Crime Coordinator.

The Crime Coordinator will be someone with training in criminology/criminal justice, law enforcement and management. If we now have no one on the local scene who fits that bill, we should approach a friendly foreign government to fill the position through secondment, while we prepare locals.

We seriously lack crime-prevention and rehabilitation programmes in SVG. As pointed out in a previous article, we also seriously lack youth programmes. We need to look at the role of deportees in the escalation of crime in SVG.

The mandate of the Crime Coordinator should include the merging of existing crime-prevention programmes and establishing new ones. The Co-ordinator’s mandate should also include making recommendations to the Ministry of National Security, the Police Service and other law enforcement agencies. This new crime coordinating agency should be allowed to function at arms length, free from political interference.

I know there is the political will, Comrade. So, let’s get it on!!

Wade Kojo Williams, Sr.,
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.