The issue of security took centre stage on Wednesday at a community meeting organised by the Gros Islet Police sub-division. At the head table of the area’s Human Resource Development Centre were the acting police commissioner Milton Desir, ASP Elvis Thomas, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet and the constituency’s MP Lenard Montoute. Concerned residents attended in full force.
ASP Thomas, commander of the Gros Islet sub-division, kicked off by citing a line by Robert Peel: “The police are the public and the public are the police.” ASP Thomas continued: “I honestly believe it is only when we, the public and the police, come together that we can truly realize greater success and safer communities.”
Thomas revealed that from December 7 the force had embarked on a “Policing My Community” initiative that includes a series of meetings involving such key stakeholders as businesses and neighborhood watch groups. He urged to “remain resilient, professional and committed to the task at hand”. The secret to effective policing, he said, is not any mathematical formula; it is simply working together.
“Criminals should never be allowed to be so bold as to believe they can run this place,” said a passionate Thomas. “We must send a message to them. We have a job to do and, trust me, we will get it done. This is our time and our moment for police and community to work together in the fight against crime.”
Residents were given a presentation by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PDMU), a unit operating out of the Office of the Prime Minister, tasked with collecting data to inform strategies. Placing Gros Islet in focus, PMDU director Charon Gardner-Hyppolyte revealed the extent of the crime impact on the district by breaking down the reported incidents for 2019. Altogether, there were 309; among them 25 robberies, 90 burglaries, 12 sexual assaults, 29 firearm offences, 33 vehicle thefts, 56 assaults and 4 homicides.
Acting Police Commissioner Milton Desir made a clarion call to residents to work with the police. He believes that history shows that a police force excels when there is community policing. Their model of community policing, Desir said, will not be confined to speaking with residents; he is also challenging various communities to come together and stamp out illegal activities. “That is what we want to see for Gros Islet . . . So I’m urging persons to come forward, to give the police the information that is necessary for us to carry out investigations.”
The acting commissioner also spoke of a greater focus on preventative measures. Per the 2010 Population and Housing Census, 22,647 people resided in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia’s second most populous district after Castries. Desir noted that a criminal act may be occurring in Grand Riviere and another somewhere in Marisule, at almost the exact time. Sometimes, he said, there are just not sufficient police vehicles to respond. He made this suggestion: “So one of the initiatives that I was looking at is you have your community-policing vehicle. It is yours, we provide the police to run it, and it is just for your community. We can run it as a pilot to see how it goes. So I challenge whichever community wants to come first.”
Gros-Islet MP Lenard Montoute welcomed the hosting of the event. The size of the community was not lost on the Equity minister. While he applauds the use of CCTV cameras, he emphasized that the size and population of Gros Islet poses challenges when dealing with security. Montoute encouraged residents to work in tandem with the police, by “being their brother’s keeper,” and called for community watch groups to play a more active role.
Prime Minister Allen Chastanet echoed Thomas’ several pronouncements: when his party assumed office in 2016, what they discovered was “frightening”. Among the pressing issues were a 1,000-case backlog, a non-functioning police radar system, no Director of Public Prosecutions and egregious working conditions for the police. The prime minister acknowledged there is no single solution to crime and that it’s not simply extra policing, vehicles, CCTV cameras or growing the economy. All of these aspects, and others, he said, must come together.
Directly addressing the audience, he said: “My appeal to you is that you get involved. We will do our part. We’re going to put more resources than ever before behind the police. They have my fullest support but I want us as a community to embrace them and to understand the difficult task that they have.”
ASP Thomas had the final word: “Now is the time, let’s do this together!”—which also happens to be this year’s Independence theme.
