Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 04, 2017 (SKNIS): Addressing reporters at his monthly press conference on February 1, Prime Minister and Minister of National Security of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, commended the High Command of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF) for the hard work that it has been undertaking and reaffirmed his confidence in the ability of the leadership of the Force, in collaboration with law enforcement officers, to deliver in relation to the challenges of law and order.
“I want to commend the law enforcement officers for their efforts so far in 2017. They have been on the road doing the difficult job of keeping us safe; some of us take this for granted,” Dr. Harris said. “They have employed strategies to prevent crimes and detect crimes when they occur. In the area of homicides, the record shows only one homicide in January 2017. We wish there was none. However, we note that this statistic compares favourably with five in 2015 and six in 2016. We hope that this significant diminution in homicides continues every month.”
Prime Minister Harris commended the hard work of the security forces.
“We say thank you to all the hard-working law enforcement officers who by their actions and efforts under the command of the leadership of the Force have been able to halt and as it were put up roadblocks in order to have this significant diminution…what I do say is that we have every confidence in their ability to deliver.”
He said that the government has provided and continues to provide the necessary instruments and infrastructure for the Police to carry out their important yet challenging work of maintaining law and order. He also noted that the people of the country have reasonable expectations that the Police will continue to deliver despite the daunting challenge, while calling on all and sundry to do their part in stemming anti-social behaviour.
The minister of national security further indicated that there is ongoing engagement with the government and law enforcement agencies at the regional and international level in the area of gun-related homicides, while adding that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will become more involved in collaborating with neighbouring countries especially in the area of border and coastal management.
