Police Commissioner says public fear of crime has been somewhat exaggerated!

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith the end of the year round the corner, 2018 has so far recorded a total of forty murders. Over the past few weeks an upsurge in criminal activity caused the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force to recall vacationing officers back to work. Police commissioner Severin Monchery appeared on the weekly ‘Police Insight’ television show on Monday. Looking back on the year, he said there had been some major accomplishments. “For the year so far we have seized about sixty-one firearms on the streets. Of the 40 homicides we’ve had,” he said, “we’ve been able to solve 17—which is very good. We’ve been able to keep the criminals at bay for the last few days thanks to operations conducted.”

Addressing the public “fear of crime” he said, “I think it is being exaggerated a little. I don’t think the fear is as bad as it’s being made to look. However, I believe that a lot of people are very concerned.” The commissioner says the force faces a number limitations when it comes to carrying out it functions. Proper information gathering from the public is a major one. “Sometimes people tell you that they cannot give the police information because they’re afraid the perpetrators will find out what they did,” said the commissioner. “But they share what they know with the media and with friends. What I’m saying to people is, if you’re reluctant to provide the police with information, still there has to be someone else you trust and can talk to.”

He says a number has been specially set-aside for persons to call without have to identify themselves. It is 452 7463. There is also in place “informant payments” that allows a person to be compensated for providing useful information to the police. Another complaint by the police centres on manpower. This shortage of personnel requires officers to put in abnormally long hours, which carries its own burdens. The ideal situation, said the commissioner, would be an 8-hour shift. But this would require an increase in personnel. The good news is that new officers are currently undergoing training and by next year they will join the force at work. Other setbacks mentioned were resource constraints and having to send samples from crime scenes for analysis overseas.

“When it comes to crime fighting,” said Monchery, “that is solely the role of the police. But crime prevention should be a national issue, dealt with by all the relevant stakeholders. When we look at most of the victims and perpetrators of crime, you soon realize the system must bear responsibility for them. The system let them down badly at some point in their lives, sometimes while still attending school.”