Mixed pictures from St Kitts and Nevis crime figures

Preliminary police figures released in St Kitts and Nevis show a drop across a number of serious crimes.

There were 23 murders recored in 2017, a 26% drop compared to 2016, while shooting with intent offences fell by 35%.

Some violent crimes, such as wounding and attempted murder, also saw a drop of at least 20%, and there was a small decrease in recorded sex offences.

But while a press release from the government’s information service hailed the fall in what they described as “major crimes”, there have been significant rises in a number of areas.

Drug offences – including possession, trafficking and importation – jumped by 40% compared to the 2016 figures, while the number of robberies increased by 42%.

During a press conference with the commissioner of police, the 12.2% increase in recorded crimes was attributed to heightened police activity.

More than half of the 203 recorded crimes in 2017 were “a direct result of the police’s drug and firearm interdiction efforts,” the government’s information service said.

Commissioner Queeley highlighted the police’s work to reduce the number of firearms among the population.

“It is also a point to note that of those 47 firearms that were removed from the streets, 38 of those are cases where persons were made answerable,” he said on this week.

“This again I say is commendable when viewed against the variety and caliber of weapons that we took off the streets.

“As you can see, our proactive enforcement led to an increase in some areas and therefore that is quite positive.”