By Lesroy W. Williams
Observer Reporter
(Tabernacle village, St. Kitts)—The Police Town Hall meeting held at the Edgar T. Morris Primary School in Tabernacle Village, St. Kitts on 1st April, promised what the other five town hall meetings before it had guaranteed: better Police public relations and a professional approach to tackling crime.
The 60 or so persons from constituency #7 in attendance had heard it before. Nonetheless, they were there with their concerns, fears, questions and gripes. In the spirit of better relations, an official panel was present to dialogue with those congregated.
On the panel were Austin Williams, Commissioner of Police, Joseph Richardson, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operations), Joseph Liburd, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime), Mr. Raphael Archibald, Community Representative, Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris, Elected Representative Constituency #7, and Mr. Chesley Hamilton, P.A.M. Representative.
Commissioner Williams began the panel discussion by welcoming those gathered and said that he was generally pleased with the support and interest shown by the various communities with respect to the town hall meetings. He underscored the need for better relations between the Police and the general public in the prevention and solving of crimes.
“[In] you the public we have found to be our key players and I am pleased that you have shown ownership of your communities,” he said.
Given the erroneous perception that young people are criminals, Mr. Williams said, “Listen to this, I wanted to say this for a long time. I believe that most of our young people are misunderstood. Let’s face it, not all young people are criminals, even though our statistics show that most crimes are committed by persons between the ages of 15 and 30 years. Nevertheless, our findings indicate that only about one percent of the population is involved in criminal activities, which accounts for a small portion of our youths.”
Mr. Williams reiterated that the police remain committed to the development of new initiatives that would directly contribute to crime control. He stated that there is a 24 hour mobile patrol, bicycle patrol in Basseterre and Frigate Bay. He said that they have extended their efforts to the use of the K-9 Unit at the airports, seaports, ferry terminal and containers at the ports. There is a Mobile Patrol/Quick Response Task Force in District “B”, which, is the operational area stretching from Old Road to Lodge via Sandy Point. He promised more police presence, undercover patrols, random stop and searches day and night, targeting of known hot spots, joint Police and Defense Force mobile patrols and zero tolerance for camouflage clothing of any sort worn by civilians.
The Honourable Timothy Harris thanked the Police for their outreach and reminded them of their pledge to serve and protect.
“We need law and order. We need peace and we need the security forces. We need a disciplined society. We need an environment in which business can be conducted,” he said.
In the context of building community relationships he focused on four main areas.
One, the Police need to be more responsive to the public when they are called upon. He said that the Police on several occasions had responded in a nonchalant manner to calls from the public.
Two, there needs to be better communication between the security forces and guardians with parents, if we are to engage in partnership.
Three, the Police need to be more visible in communities.
Four, the Police need to understand that they must be confidential with information entrusted to them. Failure to be confidential breeds public distrust, with the serious implication that crime-solving will be hampered for fear of reprisals if people volunteer information.
Mr. Raphael Archibald made a passionate plea for young people to get involved in positive activities such as sports, Church organizations, Boy’s and Girl’s Brigade and groups that impact positively on their lives. He stressed the crucial role of parenting and asked parents to be vigilant of their children. Parents must point out to their children when they are wrong and not shield them, he said. He said that young people must have self-respect, good self-esteem and a respect for the law.
Mr. Chesley Hamilton affirmed the need to teach conflict resolution in schools and other institutions so that persons can effectively manage conflict through negotiation and mediation. He said that the problem of solving crime boils down to one of leadership from all sectors of the society. We need a society of role models, he stated.
After over two and a half hours of discussion in the spirit of better relations between the public and the Police, there was a renewed call from both the Police and attendees for more confidentiality from the Police, the need for the Police to be professionally trained, the need for the family, church, schools and other institutions to take seriously their role in educating our young in positive values, the need for the Police to be more responsive and the importance of understanding and upholding the Law.
