The Mayor of Castries Peterson D. Francis is calling on members of the public to play a greater role in apprehending perpetrators of petty crimes within the city.
The Mayor made the call after reports of an attack on a cruise ship passenger on Saturday afternoon. The incident occurred at the corner of Jeremie and Coral streets and involved a German national.
The City Police escorted the victim to the vessel and sympathized with him after the visitor said he did not want the police to get involved.
The Castries Mayor who visited the scene of the incident expressed outrage, calling for citizens to stand up against transgressions in the city.
āCitizens of this country should declare war on all criminal elements. We are empowered according to the Criminal Code of Saint Lucia to make citizenās arrests. Let us take the fight to them. The time has come for a bold statement to be made guided by the laws of the land. Let us send this message to themā, said Mayor Francis.
āWhile remarkable strides and great collaborations have been achieved in policing our city, we cannot continue marketing our island as a honeymoon and vacation destination only to have a few lawbreakers with bad minds cripple our society. What about the efforts which go into redevelopment, branding and marketing the destination? If only we can be brave enough to make more citizenās arrests, then we will see a better and more peaceful society. This situation occurred in the eyes of many who did nothing to stop the culprit.ā
According to the Criminal Code of Saint Lucia, Chapter 3.01 of 2014, section 30 subsection 1, any national can make a citizenās arrest if they witness a crime.