St Kitts Parliament allocates $79.8 million to Security budget

Parliament allocated $79.8 million to the Ministry of National Security, a more than five percent increase over 2018, Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, told the senior leadership and rank-and-file officers of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force during the Dec. 19 Commissioner’s Lecture at the police training complex.

Prime Minister Harris’ administration has significantly increased the budgetary allocation to the Ministry of National Security every year since assuming office in February 2015. Notably, the $72 million that was allocated to the Ministry of National Security for 2017 represented an almost five-fold increase over the $15.3 million allocated to it in 2014. The $72 million is also exactly double the combined total amount ($36 million) allocated in 2014 ($15.3 million) and 2015 ($20.7 million).

During the lecture the new Director of the Forensic Unit, Latoya Lake-Marshall, was introduced to those in attendance.

A graduate of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and a more than 16-year veteran of the Forensic Identification Unit of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda,  Lake-Marshall started off her remarks, saying, “To whom much is given, much is expected. I stand before you extremely proud to represent you as your Forensic Director.”

“More power to them and more power to the police force,” Dr Harris said. “We do appreciate all of the females who have come forward. Equally, we appreciate the men, but this [profession] has long been a preserve for males so it is good to have women in leadership.