PAM Leader – Lindsay Grant
Basseterre, St.Kitts – Nevis
People’s Action Movement
March 29, 2011
Leader of the St. Kitts – Nevis Opposition party the People’s Action Movement Mr Lindsay Grant is renewing his call for the government to inform the country on what is being done to lessen the continually increasing incidents of violent crimes in the Federation. Two shootings in Nevis over the last weekend, a robbery at the Breweries depot at Wellington Road and attacks on students and faculty of locally based US universities are just a few of the most recent depressing headlines.
Grant lamented that the government continues to provide very little in terms of solutions to the ever present crime problem.
Grant said, “It is clear from basic observation that little to nothing is being done to address the rampage of the criminals. The very few incidents that even make it to the newsrooms constitute a crime rate, particularly for violent crime that is out of proportion for our tiny population. I renew my call for the government to provide the nation with some sense of relief by highlighting and initiating plans and programmes that will result in a decrease in the incidents of crime.”
Since December 2005 with the infamous brutal slaying of popular Radio Personality Lorenzo Greene and his Wife there have been 108 homicides in the federation. In recent months the number of robberies has also dramatically increased punctuated by the high-profile robbery of 17 tourists at the Brimstone Hill historic site.
“As the economic noose has tightened around the pocketbooks of everyone the property crime has really exploded. The terrifying spectre of home invasion robberies have brutally and traumatically brought home to scores of unfortunate ordinary citizens, visitors and foreign students that there is nowhere to hide,” said Grant
“Many of our citizens and visitors including tourists and students are finding themselves accosted by gun-wielding gangsters, in some cases right in what should be the sanctity of their own homes. Others come home from a hard day at work to find that their homes have been violated and their property stolen. They cannot sleep comfortably in the homes that they are working so hard to pay for. Our law abiding citizens and visitors are being violated and this must stop and the Prime Minister and the Minister of National Security needs to provide the country with answers and solutions. ,” Grant continued.
The Opposition party leader indicated that his party will be shortly releasing a comprehensive crime inititiative that will be presented to the government and the country as well as NGO’s.
“Shortly we will be releasing a NEW Crime Fighting Initiative that we hope the government will seriously consider and implement in entirety or in part. We intend however not to just present to government alone but also to all NGO’s and the country as a whole as we see its implementation being heavily dependent on the involvement of all of us and not just the government. I would implore the Prime Minister and the Minister of National Security to seriously consider this plan as it is painfully obvious that whatever plan or initiative, if any that is being pursued now is not working and a new approach may be greatly warranted,” Grant continued.
The People’s Action Movement will be releasing its New Crime Initiative shortly in an effort to provide some hope and relief to persons who have been plagued by the ever escalating scourge of crime over the last 5 years.