St. Kitts and Nevis’ Crime Reduction Strategy Being Shared as a Regional Best Practice
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, December 05, 2019 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The highly successful Crime Reduction Strategy employed by the Ministry of National Security in St. Kitts and Nevis, that has yielded unprecedented results in the overall reduction in gang related incidents this year, is being studied by regional partners.
This is an achievement that Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, believes all civil-minded citizens and residents should be proud of.
“We should be proud that our efforts are being acknowledged and that other nations are looking for us to share what we are learning. Things are changing for the better in St. Kitts and Nevis and every progressive citizen and resident commends the government on the success of the so-called Peace Initiative. It is perhaps the most successful intervention in crime fighting over the last 20 years,” said Prime Minister Harris on Wednesday (December 04) during his press conference.
The prime minister stated that members of the police High Command recently presented the country’s Crime Reduction Strategy at a meeting organised by the British National Crime Agency, responsible for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.
Prime Minister Harris commented that through the Peace Initiative, young marginalized men in St. Kitts and Nevis are pursuing alternative paths of responsible living while, at the same time, avoiding crime and violence.
“I want to congratulate the young men who have determined in their own minds that it is not worth it to shoot, to kill, to maim; that it is not worth it to restrict themselves into gangs; that it is not worth it not being able to leave West Basseterre and McKnight to go to East Basseterre or Cayon or to go around this very small country. But it is worth it to lay down their arms and it is worth it to try again and make an effort at a responsible living,”
The honourable prime minister applauded these young and “all those of our citizens and residents who are doing something to promote law and order,” and noted that this period of peace “is making life and living better for all of us.”