By Steve Thomas
Observer Nevis Editor
(St. Kitts-Nevis) – Officials from the Caribbean Community are preparing to meet next week at a special summit “to fully explore the crime and security issues facing the Region and to agree to a Strategy and Action Plan to stem the rising tide of violent criminality,” according to the statement issued March 8 following the CARICOM meeting of heads of government.
The meeting is set for April 3-4.
Although overall crime in the Federation decreased during 2007, serious crimes, such as murder, assault and rape, remained at high levels or increased.
So far, in 2008, there has been one murder on Nevis and three on St. Kitts. No one has been charged in these homicides and police say the investigations are continuing.
At least six people have been wounded in a spate of recent shootings, including one victim who had to have his leg amputated.
In a public address, Assistant Commissioner of Police with responsibility for crime, Joseph Liburd, said that in the first 12 weeks of 2008, police had confiscated 10 firearms and over 400 rounds of ammunition. In all of 2007, 21 firearms were confiscated. In all of 2006, eight firearms were confiscated.
A number of arrests have been made in connection with the firearm seizures.
Mr. Liburd said the police would keep up their efforts to battle criminals.
“We will continue on the offensive. We will not retreat. We will not surrender,” Mr. Liburd said. “We call on the population to be with us.”
Once the press reports and rumors are swept away, a simple question remains: How bad is it?
A report issued last year by the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime offered some insight on the impact of high crime rates on the Caribbean region:
-“Crime impacts business and is a major obstacle to investment. In many countries, as crime increases, access to financing declines; spending on formal and informal security measures increases; and worker productivity declines. Estimates suggest that reducing the homicide rate in the Caribbean by one third from its current level could more than double the region’s rate of per capita economic growth.”
-“Murder rates in the Caribbean are higher than in any other region of the world, and assault rates are significantly above the world average. Narcotics trafficking is at the core of these high rates. Narcotics trafficking diverts criminal justice resources from other important activities, increases and embeds violence, undermines social cohesion and contributes to the widespread availability of firearms in the region.”
-“Gun ownership is an outgrowth of the drug trade and, in some countries, of politics and associated garrison communities. Although reducing gun ownership is difficult, better gun registries, marking and tracking can help, as can improved gun interdiction in ports. Policies should also focus on limiting the availability of firearms and on providing meaningful alternatives to youth. Deaths and injuries from youth violence constitute a major threat to public health and social and economic progress across the Caribbean. Youth are disproportionately represented in the ranks of both victims and perpetrators of crime and violence.”
This fits the murder pattern so far this year in the Federation. All four victims were black men in their 20s: Mr. Leon Westerman, 28, on Jan. 28; Mr. Derrick Gumbs, Jr, 21, on March 11; Mr. Leon Willock, 20, and Mr. Orlando Williams, 25, whose bodies were found on March 18.
Another excerpt from the report reflects the aggressive strategy adopted by Federation police and security forces, though it shows there are limits to what it can accomplish:
“In general, there is an over-reliance on the criminal justice system to reduce crime in the region. At the same time, it must be recognized that some types of crime—such as organized crime, drug and firearms trafficking—are generally impervious to prevention initiatives; their control requires an efficient criminal justice system. Urgent priorities for improving the criminal justice system in the region include: the development of management information systems, tracking of justice system performance; monitoring of reform programs and increased accountability to citizens.
“Several countries are increasingly investing in crime prevention – using approaches such as integrated citizen security programs, crime prevention through environmental design, and a public health approach that focuses on risk factors for violent behaviors. These alternative approaches have significant potential to generate decreases in both property crime and inter-personal violence.”
On St. Kitts and Nevis, various groups have been working to support law enforcement directly – like the Nevis Anti-Crime Community Initiative, which presented 23 body armor vests to police working on the island in January – to athletic associations offering new and more inclusive programs to offer young people positive alternatives to criminal activities. The police also have youth clubs.
In the specific area of youth violence, the report suggests that “to address issues of youth violence, Caribbean policymakers should invest in programs that have been shown to be successful in careful evaluations such as: i) early childhood development and mentoring programs; ii) interventions to keep high risk youth in secondary schools; and iii) opening schools after hours and on week-ends to offer additional activities and training.”
In January, Nevis Island Administration Premier the Hon. Joseph Parry offered his perspective on the economic impact of crime.
If crime is not brought under control, the impact will be felt, he said.
“The tourists will go. The investors will go. Then Nevis will regress,” he said.
As if to underscore Premier Parry’s words, in May, 2007, the U.N. issued a report called “Crime and Development in Central America.” It helps put the impact of crime in both personal and community perspective:
“The costs of violence to both households and the state can be considerable. Violence is particularly costly in poor countries, where social safety nets may be sparse and access to medical attention limited. It can rob households of their only breadwinner, and injury can incapacitate those whose livelihood is dependant on their physical labour. The cumulative costs of this trauma can be considerable – one study in El Salvador put the total national cost of violence at 11.5% of GDP, and a recent UNDP assessment put the figure in Guatemala at 7.3% of GDP. Similarly, the loss of productive assets can be devastating for self-employed people with no insurance. employed people with no insurance. While the direct impact of crime on poor victims is great, the indirect effects of crime have a far wider reach. Victimisation or fear of victimisation can cause people to withdraw from social interaction in order to limit their exposure. This can interfere with commercial, recreational, and educational activities. Crime negatively impacts quality of life, and can drive skilled labour overseas. Development experts agree that one of the key elements needed for economic development is a skilled work-force, and thus have encouraged developing countries to invest in education. This investment is largely lost, however, when the best and the brightest chose to emigrate.”
Even after the expenses of law enforcement and the justice system are tallied, the loss of economic growth is calculated and the unknowable price of human suffering is factored in, the 2007 U.N. report states that there can be an even greater cost if crime goes unchecked; freedom itself.
“Crime and corruption undermine democracy itself. The primary responsibility of the state is to ensure citizen security, and when it fails to establish basic internal order, it loses the confidence of the people. When civil servants and elected officials come to be viewed as part of the crime problem, citizens effectively disown their government. They become subjects rather than citizens. Whatever role the state might play in development is seriously challenged by the loss of popular support.”
When it comes to crime, CARICOM will have a lot to talk about.
