PM Terrance Drew vows to tackle crime and violence in St. Kitts and Nevis

St. Kitts and Nevis: Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew, on Wednesday, addressed the situation of crime and violence prevalent on the island nation lately. He said that willful violence will not be tolerated, which has resulted in an unacceptable number of homicides over the past two decades. 

Talking about the situation, Dr. Drew said that thus far in 2024, the island has lost 19 souls to violence, and in the past five days alone, “we lost three of our citizens to gun violence,” said the PM. 

On behalf of the government, the Prime Minister expressed his deepest condolences to the loved ones of the victims as they grieve. He also assured the general public that this administration will do everything it can to bring justice to the affected families. 

“We have lost our way as a society. Every homicide is one too many. Remember, every life is precious. We cannot become numb to any violent crime,” said PM Terrance Drew. 

He continued to say that the National Security Council, which he leads, has not become numb, and the team meets every week to ensure that strong policies are created to sustain a safe St. Kitts and Nevis.

According to the Prime Minister, the National Security Council includes the heads of all national security agencies in the Federation, and as a result of the carefully crafted policies of this council, the island is seeing a rate of 50 percent detection and homicides for the year, an increase over the last year.

He noted that while the statistics are admirable, they are not good enough and added, “Not only should we detect, charge and prosecute the destructive persons involved in criminal activities, but we have to prevent the nefarious actions of those 19 persons killed this year.”

PM Drew noted that the intelligence he has received suggests that two-thirds of those homicides were due to gang violence and reprisals.

Calling gang violence a serious problem, the leader said that this societal ill reflected throughout the region has been serious for everyone for at least two decades now, but it has worsened because of the introduction of money into the equation.

He further pointed his fingers at the peace program, which was initiated by the previous government, and said that due to the ill-advised peace program, the gangs have significant amounts of money used to buy influence and dangerous, sophisticated weapons that are used to carry out heinous acts.

PM Terrance Drew also highlighted that that is why the focus in the National Security Council’s recent meeting was suppression and preventing the inception of crime or preventing the expansion of criminal activity.

In addition to this, he also said that his administration is taking all measures to eradicate the crime situation and emphasised that for this, the Joint Security Operational Tactical Team will be strategically patrolling hot spots.

He also pledged that there would be further engagement of regional and international security experts who will be working alongside the local force to control the situation in St. Kitts and Nevis.