Antigua and Barbuda police officers will soon boost the law enforcement ranks in Saint Lucia in response to a deadly gun crime surge.
On Thursday, the office of Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister announced that seven officers would join Regional Security System (RSS) ranks already in Saint Lucia to help the battle against crime.
The announcement follows the disclosure earlier this week by Saint Lucia Police Commissioner Crusita Descartes-Pelius that the country would get more RSS support ‘in the coming days’.
Descartes-Pelius said the presence of RSS ranks did not indicate a lack of competence on the part of members of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF).
But she explained that RSS ranks had increased boots on the ground.
Recently, RSS Executive Director Commodore Errington Shurland mentioned the need for hard and soft approaches to the gun violence crisis in some member states.
Shurland spoke at last month’s RSS Council of Ministers meeting in Grenada.
He explained that the soft approach would involve constant positive messaging to young people through social development programmes consistently targetting troubled youth and programmes addressing recidivism.
On the other hand, Shurland said hard responses require the commitment to put in place the necessary infrastructure to secure borders and prevent the entry of guns.
He also spoke of the need to deal with issues of corruption.
Headline photo: Stock image
Send them and place them in VF that will be just fine.
What about the top cop bringing a automatic weapon in pieces in the back of a refrigerator and customs just letting the man’s child walk out with weapon and fridge? …..who’s checking Customs Controllers and every single,ALL Brokers?!!!.
Ok, recently didn’t the commissioner said there own can solve the situation. Why spend money to bring in RSS and now AB police? You see how dumb you all does look after talking trash.
We need all the support we can get. However, I hope those authorities realize the RSS approach is not long term – this is not sustainable. While the current approach is to instil fear in the criminals, I hope there is a team working on a plan and approach for long term. We would be dumb to believe the criminals will remain in hiding after the departure of the RSS. While the RSS is approach is effective, authorities should get ahead of the game. Train our very own with all the skills required to be efficient on the job. Things have changed. Criminals are no longer our school dropouts. Those folks are the cream of the crop who have decided to take matters into their own hands. Therefore, the police need to train and be ready to challenge and always be ahead of those new gangs. All the efforts of the RSS will be a waste if the men and women are not ready for the long term aporoach
I dare say that those moves serves only to undermine the capability of the Local Force to deal with Domestic Crimes.
As such the morale of members of the Force is further diminished.
Helen is in deep doodoo
At this point we need the assistance of the U.S. since they sanctioned unlawful police killings during police restore confidence and ccj we need hanging for criminal bastards . #justiceforthe2yearoldbaby
Seek assistance from the army, marines, navy seals to st up base in every bay or in every community on island