Jeremiah Norbert, the Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with Responsibility for Crime Prevention and Persons with Disabilities, has raised concerns about the surge in guns and ammunition infiltrating Saint Lucia through porous borders.
Over the past weekend, the country witnessed at least five homicides, prompting citizens to demand stronger measures against crime. Despite efforts to equip officers of the Royal St Lucia Police Force (RSLPF), the public remains shocked and traumatized by the escalating gun violence in communities.
Collaborating with the RSLPF, major stakeholders, social groups, and civil society, Norbert is actively pursuing interventions to curb this crime wave. He alluded to the gradual implementation of a National Crime Prevention Strategy, emphasizing that it won’t happen overnight.
“It is not something that is going to happen overnight …(and) we have started the engagement with the stakeholders,” stated Joseph.
The minister reported that he has held dialogue with the St Lucia Chamber of Commerce, NGOs, civil society and “other individuals who have an interest and we have started discussions …and we engaged two or three individuals who can serve in the capacity of consultants.”
Joseph disclosed that the authorities plan to employ the services of a consultant to formulate a National Crime Prevention strategy and continues to allocate additional resources to the RSLPF. Recently, they contributed about 28 vehicles and other equipment to enhance law enforcement efforts. Despite the challenges, officers are making progress by apprehending suspects and confiscating illegal weapons. Notably, four of last weekend’s homicides were gun-related and primarily involved young individuals. The police were able to recover about four to five firearms.
“And what that speaks to, is the heavy influx of firearms into our borders,” he said. “And we really have to reconsider our modus operandi.”
Joseph said, “though our borders may be porous …we are working to tighten it and to strengthen what currently exits at our ports of entry.”
The minster adds that there is a serious problem “as it relates to availability of firearms on the streets …and with four young people dying (last weekend) from gun related violence… it is a time to take stock and reimagine how we manage those things , and especially our ports of entry.|” He said, guns are not manufactured in Saint Lucia and they are not “home-made guns” , the firearms are imported from overseas.
“We cannot continue along those lines, we cannot continue (to allow) firearms to just come in Saint Lucia …so, we will be giving some serious consideration to this, as part of our crime fighting (strategy),” Joseph asserted.