By Lesroy W. Williams

Observer Reporter

(Basseterre, St. Kitts)—Former Minister of National Security and present parliamentary representative for constituency #2, G.A. Dwyer Astaphan, has expressed mixed feelings about the system for rewarding informants of crime saying that “the system is sluggish and individuals have to wait for months, sometimes many months to get their reward.”

Given the recent spate of gun-related, gang-related murders in the Federation, the Police are having a gargantuan task in apprehending and charging individuals for murders because of a culture of silence born of fear. The “informer fi dead” culture emanating from gang culture is holding many people to ransom and confidentiality in the Police desperately needs to be beefed up.

With eight murders already having taken place for the year, three of them in three days, grave concerns are mounting about arresting gang-culture that can seriously damage the country’s reputation and development.

Speaking recently at a press conference, Prime Minister Douglas has called on the full mobilization of the Police and Defence Forces.

The government is offering a reward of EC$10,000.00 leading to the arrest and trial of persons involved in recent homicides and a monetary reward of between EC$500-1000 leading to the recovery of any firearm and highest priority in terms of the amount of the reward will be given in the recovery of firearms used in the committal of any crime.

However, Mr. Astaphan, speaking at his Port Zante law office, said that the reward system for informants needs to be revisited and reformed, and that one needs to exercise some measure of caution with such a system.

“There are already some brave and very cooperative individuals in our community who help the security forces with information. I know that and although they are not doing it for financial reward, we have to be very careful about creating a culture in which everything, civic or otherwise, comes with a dollar price on it because you’ll reach the point where you’ll never have the right price to get the thing that you require,” Mr. Astaphan said.

“Having said that, we must always be able and willing to show citizens our appreciation and respect for being civic-minded and cooperative. However, financial reward is a reality, it is a fact of life, but in order to make it work we have to appreciate that many people who are in a position and even willing to share information cannot afford to financially wait until a case is completed. A case could take three months, six months, three years or more,” he said.

A system needs to be worked out whereby the security forces can on a regular basis take care of informants so that they can survive financially until cases are successfully completed because many of them “live in very desperate circumstances and on very short financial cycles even day to day,” he said.

Having to wait for months or even years “frustrates them and weakens them and it also compromises the chances of the authorities to complete the prosecution and to get a successful case.”

“Money needs to be readily available,” he said.

To that end, Mr. Astaphan said that a special account needs to be set up and be operated by the Police and the Defence Force, not for the consolidated fund.

In that account money will be deposited and from it rewards will be paid for informants and witness protection operations would take place, he said.

“The money would come as a percentage, say 10 per cent of the revenue generated from the expanded base of ticketable offences (minor traffic offences, small charges etc) to save court time and money, thereby generating revenue,” Mr. Astaphan said. “In addition to fines ordered by the court, 10 per cent of that goes to the fund for that particular purpose.”

Twenty per cent of the money generated from fines and the courts would go to incentivizing the Police Force; of the remaining70 per cent, 50 per cent would go to a special account operated by the Ministry of National Security for witness protection, Mr. Astaphan said.

“I am not talking about little things now. You have to move people, you have to rent a house in Antigua perhaps or send somebody to the United States or whatever.

“That is a very critical reality that we face in our justice system, not just here in St. Kitts and Nevis but all over the world. Monies from that 50 per cent would also be directed to maintenance, repairs and replacement in the Ministry of National Security and Justice and the remaining 20 per cent would go to the consolidated fund.

“The matter of witness protection is important and this fund can provide for the safety of witnesses rather than having to go through the trials and tribulations,” he said.

With respect to rewards for turning in firearms, Mr. Astaphan cautioned against setting up a scam system.

“The system does not work efficiently. On top of that we have to be careful that we do not set up a scam whereby people deliver guns to the security forces and get a reward as happened in St. Lucia when the then Prime Minister set up a system whereby anybody who delivers a gun to the police would get a $2500 reward,” Mr. Astaphan said.

“They set up a business, importing guns from Martinique. You have to be very careful with that because they are going to supply guns to that reward system—say we’re going to put in five guns a week, they are going to bring in 20 guns, five for the Police to get your $12,500 and the rest for the streets,” he said.

According to Mr. Astaphan guns can be readily had on the streets of the Federation for between two to four thousands E.C. dollars.