United States Embassy Helps With Ongoing Public Prosecutions Revamping Process

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t is truly a pleasure to be back in Saint Lucia, a country with which the United States enjoys excellent and productive relations. I thank Prime Minister Chastanet and Director of Public Prosecutions Greene for their friendship, collaboration on topics of mutual interest and commitment to public service.” U.S. Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Linda S. Taglialatela, opened her address with those statements during a short ceremony to present equipment to Saint Lucia’s Crown Prosecution Service. Prime Minister Allen Chastanet and DPP Daarsrean Greene attended the meeting on Thursday April 6, 2017 as well as members of the U.S. Embassy to the Eastern Caribbean and members of Saint Lucia’s Justice Department. “The United States and the Embassy look forward to continuing our long-lasting relationship and partnership with Saint Lucia and to making the country stronger, safer and more prosperous.”

The donations from the United States are worth approximately EC$100,000. The ambassador noted that this equipment is meant to provide prosecutors and staff with resources to work “effectively and efficiently”. She emphasized her satisfaction with the work of DPP Daarsrean Greene thus far in his tenure at the office. “He deserves our collective support to ensure that law and order prevails in Saint Lucia,” she said, “This equipment represents a vote of confidence by the Government of the United States for his good efforts. We are preparing similar donations to the Saint Lucia High Court and the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court which sits here in Saint Lucia.”

According to the ambassador, training has been implemented with members of the island’s justice department and the equipment donated is meant to physically complement the work already being done. The joint United States-United Kingdom Criminal Justice Advisor, Sarah Abraham, will be continuously working with Saint Lucian authorities to modernize and streamline present criminal justice procedures.

Prime Minister Allen Chastanet welcomed Ambassador Taglialatela to Saint Lucia once again and thanked her and the United States on behalf of the Government. He also expressed his gratitude for DPP Greene and “the excellent work he has been doing over the past couple of months”. The prime minister also commended the Public Prosecution department on cases that have recently been resolved. He described the donation as a turning point for Saint Lucia and noted that it symbolizes that the island does not have to face problems of a criminal nature on its own, that there are other people interested in our performance and the welfare of our citizens. “There is no one magical solution or silver bullet that is all of a sudden remarkably going to resolve the problems that we have in crime in our country. The first thing we did was to take control of the things that we can control. We’ve indicated that the judicial system is objective number one. There’s no point in having the policemen apprehending anyone if we don’t have the ability of being able to convict anyone.”

DPP Daarsrean Greene also thanked Ambassador Taglialatela and the United States for their contribution to his department and the betterment of Saint Lucia’s prosecutions. He said that the equipment would be put to full use immediately. The contribution includes 28 desktop computers, 12 laptops, eight printers, two scanners and 24 filing cabinets.

Prime Minister Chastanet took the opportunity to highlight other plans of his government including improving the collection of evidence and more updates on Saint Lucia’s Forensics Lab as opposed to continuous outsourcing. He addressed the DPP and the department saying, “I want to say to him and his team that the Ministry of Finance will support his efforts in making sure that the solution for a Forensic Lab will be a homegrown solution.” Chastanet also mentioned plans to “beef up” the island’s police force by prioritizing new Border Control.