Last month we recorded five and now two weeks into February another two. Homicides are becoming too commonplace on an island that promotes itself as paradise.

As I write a local couple has just been kidnapped, gagged and beaten, and forced to give up several thousand dollars in ransom for their release. Let us face it the country is caught in a vice of violent crime that threatens to destroy the livelihoods of several St Lucians working in the local tourism industry. If we do not arrest this problem quickly our tourism industry, which according to the Minister for Tourism accounts for more than half the country’s gross domestic product, will be in tatters before long and with it the St Lucian economy.

My reference to the impact of crime on the tourism sector is in no way intended to downplay the wider general fear and consternation among St Lucians. The reality is that so much of the country’s economic survival depends on tourism that we cannot afford to allow crime and violence to over-run the country. Already there are too many incidents of tourists being robbed on our streets. A cruise line has already removed port Castries as part of its itinerary.

What’s particularly disturbing about the current crime problem is the grossly inadequate responses from both the government and the official opposition. On the government side the Minister for National Security, Guy Mayers turns to the old but yet to be implemented policy of installing CCTV in and around the city and arming policemen with less deadly weapons: Taser guns. And in response to the absence of enabling crime fighting legislation, well, he has only just been able to secure the services of a legal drafts person to draw up the relevant legislation for the approval of the parliament.

The opposition on the other hand proffers more of the same tried and ineffective solutions: recruiting more policemen—400 to be exact, as if there was some thing magical about the number.

While the government is providing knee-jerk reactions to incidents of violent crime, the crime factories across the country are operating at full capacity: producing more criminals. It is no surprise that the police appear to be losing the battle in the fight against crime. In the current situation, tough decisions are required and they might well be unpopular but are necessary.

Those crime infested ghettos, especially in the heart of the city, must be destroyed. The police need to take up occupation of those areas until the criminals are flushed out. At least the unfortunate youth who live there will soon come to realize that criminal activity is not acceptable by the wider society. We should not continue to allow the nurturing of our children in lawless environments. Our children deserve better.

I remain befuddled that the police appear incapable of bringing a relatively small group of criminals under control. These criminals are very often known to the police and in the communities in which they are based. They drive around in unlicensed and heavily tinted vehicles and very often armed—with unlicensed firearms. A sustained stop and search campaign of suspicious vehicles along the main road arteries would go a long way in averting criminal activities.

There is also a significant number who have made motorcycles their new mode of mobility for criminal activity. Let us not forget that criminals are consistent in their behaviour. They do not observe the laws of the land— that is what makes them so recognizable. If the police would only enforce road traffic regulations with some regularity then the activities of many criminals would be foiled. The police should make life uncomfortable and stressful for those criminals in our midst, they must keep hounding them.

It is disappointing that in the government’s battle against crime there appears to be no serious effort in dealing with the sources of crime. Are we unequivocally clear about the sources of crime? I ask the question because it is only then the society can deal with this vexing issue that threatens the livelihood of so many.

Crime fighting cannot be a matter just for law enforcers. Civil society must play its part. The problem we may well have in this country is that too many of us are beneficiaries of crime and therefore are not interested in the fight against it. So we tacitly endorse criminal behaviour by our silence, and sooner rather than later crime will visit us—with a vengeance.

The government must make suitable housing available for those people living in the depressed areas especially those in the city. This should be high on the list of government priorities even if it means relocating them to other areas. There should be more government-led efforts to create employment opportunities, through self- help projects and additional fiscal incentives to the private sector to create more jobs. If the needs of vulnerable groups in our society are not addressed there will invariably be negative consequences for the wider society. There is always a price to pay for neglecting the needs of the poor and voiceless and it usually comes at a much higher price than that required to meet their genuine needs.

If we are serious about addressing the scourge of crime that is now undermining efforts at marketing our country a friendly, peaceful and loving destination then we need to go back to basics. Notwithstanding some of the suggested corrective measures mentioned earlier we need to foster anew the old value system in our schools: respect for others and authority; tolerance; hard work and discipline; respect and appreciation for the role of national institutions and, yes, honesty. The teaching of civics in our schools should be re-introduced. The call for back to basics is not going to bring about immediate results but it should redirect the path of the next generation so that the problems we faced today may be far less tomorrow.

Crime fighting is the responsibility of all of us, albeit in different ways. We must help the law enforcers to battle crime and the law must help us to help them. Those who seek to gain political advantage from the incidence of crime belong to the group who shamelessly benefit from crime. We should be very weary of these people and their professed concern for the wellbeing of the country. They regretfully reside within or without government. We must remain watchful.