The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force is entering the final stages of developing a new anti-crime strategy for 2026–27, building on what police leadership describes as measurable progress under the current operational plan.
Commissioner of Police Verne Garde told St. Lucia Times that the existing strategy, implemented in September 2024, has helped guide enforcement efforts over the past year, contributing to increased interdictions, stronger intelligence-led operations and improved coordination across the force. While acknowledging that crime remains a concern, he said the structure of the plan has delivered results that the organisation is satisfied with.
Those gains, according to Garde, have prompted the force to begin shaping its next phase.
“Well, next year, we have a number of things that line up. It’s first going to start in a new plan for 26-27,” he said.
The new plan is expected to be finalised in December, with a public briefing scheduled for early January. Garde said the police intend to formally outline the strategy on Thursday, January 8, at the force’s first press conference for 2026.
A key feature of the upcoming period will be the rollout of several initiatives aimed at strengthening enforcement and oversight. Among them is the formal launch of the Live Police Management System, which police say will improve operational coordination.
Another major element will be the previously announced gun amnesty, which the Commissioner described as a strategic starting point rather than an end in itself.
“The amnesty will be the first pre-emptive measure,” Garde said. “That will be followed by very strategic operations so that persons who think that they can just go awry in Saint Lucia will be managed and dealt with.”
Looking ahead, the Commissioner expressed confidence that the combination of planning, technology, enforcement and preventative measures would put the force in a stronger position in the year ahead.
“There’s a series of activities that I’m sure will go well, that will offer a reduction, a further reduction, in crime in 26-27,” he said.
