Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 22, 2017 (SKNIS): Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Osmond Petty, discussed measures of combating crime in the federation, including the re-introduction of Dr. Neals Chitan, an International Social Skills Consultant and Crime Reduction Specialist, who impacted the nation with his “Stop N Think” project, which was officially launched at the Advanced Vocational Education Center (AVEC) in January, 2017.
In an episode of “Working For You” on June 21, Mr Petty said steps are being taken to reduce and prevent crime.
“Dr. Chitan will be called in to speak to groups,” stated Mr. Petty, as he noted that this effort will not be limited to structured settings such as community centres but on the streets and in respective homes. He also spoke on the involvement of police in this initiative, where selected police officers will be mobilized throughout the community.
Mr. Petty expressed that Dr. Chitan will be placing his efforts in the primary schools as opposed to the high schools in order to help with prevention rather than cures in the long run. He also explained however, that Dr. Chitan will also be taking “difficult” cases at the high school level and counselling families with “at-risk” youth.
“We see education as critical to driving the success of this plan,” added Commissioner of Police, Ian Queeley, as he relayed the importance of going into the schools and teaching the youth about character building among other values to steer them away from a life of crime.
Dr. Neals Chitan’s “Stop ‘n’ Think” project was introduced to St. Kitts and Nevis to implement strategies to help individuals, families and communities to deal with a number of behavioural issues and criminal tendencies.
