Former National Security Minister, Dr Keith Mondesir, has repeated calls for severe measures against violent crime.
Mondesir believes those measures should be part of a holistic approach to dealing with the problem.
He made the comments as police continue their probe into the Island’s latest homicide.
According to reports, masked gunmen fired multiple shots at Donavan Evans, alias ‘Movado’ on Sunday night.
The shooting occurred on New Dock road, Vieux Fort.
“For crimes like this, you have to be severe,” Mondesir asserted.
He said the court should not grant bail for possession of an illegal firearm.
Mondesir feels the same should apply for someone who has a weapon such as a knife or cutlass, without being in a garden.
He said the guilty party should get a jail sentence of between 20 to 50 years based on the magistrate’s judgement.
“No less than twenty years,” he told St Lucia Times.
“There should be no money involved, just jail,” Mondesir declared.
And he said if the authorities are severe, they will obtain results in the battle against violent crime.
“You cannot go soft,” he explained.
According to Mondesir, if the police catch someone in a dance with a knife, that individual should not get bail
“You can’t go to a dance and tell me you want to dance with a knife in your waist.”
But Mondesir also felt that police officers must get some ‘liberty.’
In this regard, he acknowledged concerns over human rights.
“All of us have human rights,” Mondesir noted.
However, he explained that if people decide to be crooks they cannot get the same kind of treatment as law abiding citizens.
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