By Lesroy W. Williams

Observer Reporter

(Basseterre, St. Kitts) - The Royal St. Kitts and Nevis Police Force have been kept very busy with the upsurge in crime in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, but it was recently announced that they are about to receive help from one of the most recognized law enforcement agencies in the world.

The new Minister of National Security and Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, announced at his monthly press conference on August 27 that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is considering bringing their expertise in crime detection and crime expertise – which is being utilized in other Caribbean nations – to the Federation.

“In a matter of months, the RCMP will be here in our Federation,” Dr. Douglas said.

Why the partnership with the RCMP?

In answering this question, the Dr. Douglas said that “crime is global in its causes and manifestations and so the fight against crime must similarly extend beyond our own borders here in St. Kitts and Nevis”.

Dr. Douglas did not give a date for the arrival of the RCMP in the federation, but indicated that the main purpose in them coming is to assist the local police force in their overall management of crime by offering training workshops in crime detection and crime prevention.

The RCMP or the Gendarmerie Royale du Canada (GRC), colloquially known as the Mounties and internally as the Force, is the federal, national and paramilitary police force of Canada and one of the best-known law enforcement agencies in the world. With an on-strength establishment of 24, 578 personnel as of January 1, 2007, it is also the largest police force in Canada. It was founded in 1920 and is a merger of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police (RNMP, founded 1873) with the Dominion Police (founded 1868).

The motto of the RCMP is “Maintiens le droit” which translates to “Maintain the Right”, “Uphold the Law”, and “To Serve and Protect”.

In addition to speaking about the joint collaboration between the RCMP and the local force, the Minister of National Security mentioned that since assuming his new portfolio he has been making and keeping direct contact with the police high command to ensure that a relentless multi-pronged approach to crime is maintained.

“Our commitment is to quick response; it is to a systematic approach; it is to a high degree of professionalism when crime has been committed,” Dr. Douglas stated. “It is to ensure that there is effective crime detection and that this is held at the highest priority.”

“I must trust that bringing perpetrators to justice swiftly is our priority. Heightened proficiency in evidence collection, heightened proficiency in the preparation of case files, heightened professionalism and capacity building are now all priorities that are high upon the agenda,” Dr. Douglas added.

Dr. Douglas spoke highly of the town hall meetings that the police have been keeping with various communities in an effort to improve their public relations. These meetings have as their intended goal the building of trust and confidence between the police and the public to aid in the solving and prevention of crime.

“I want to stress that rebuilding the confidence of the public in the police in its ability to prevent, detect and bring perpetrators to justice swiftly is in fact the concentration that I highly give at this particular moment,” Dr. Douglas said.

The town hall meetings have yielded feedback and intelligence and helped the police to meet the perpetrators of crime head on, the Minister of National Security said.