Following recent gang violence in Vieux Fort, the Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire says the government along with The Royal Saint Lucian Police Force are ready to go all out to deal with the current situation.
“We all know what happened over the last few days, Saint Lucia has been witnessing this increase in crime for quite a while and there have been various attempts by various administrations to try to get on top of it, but you know it just seems to be continuing.” he says.
“Over the last few days we had this escalation and I think we all know basically it was triggered by the killing of a well-known individual and off course the reprisal seemed to have been so intense that it took a lot of persons by surprise and the nature of the reprisals that took place. And I think it brought to the fore the need for all of us to say enough is enough and to go all out to deal with this situation.”
“We’re very clear in our minds that the safety and security of Saint Lucians has to be foremost and primary in anything that we do. And the government has decided to take some very dramatic steps to deal with what happened and to make it very clear to individuals that this just cannot be tolerated in this country.” he stated.
The minister went on to inform the press that external support will be given to Saint Lucia in an attempt at dealing with the escalation in crime along with providing more resources to the Police Force.
He states that social intervention is fundamental and social intervention programs must be put in place to support communities and support disadvantaged and marginalized individuals to empower them to make better choices and to deal with their issues differently.
“We have to give the social support.” he says.
“To support training of young people, more assistance for grants and loans for young people. Grants and loans for small businesses, more incentives for business to be able to generate more economic activity.”
“The government is also looking into providing some counseling and support for affected persons, affected students in the area. We are mobilizing the resources to be able to actually provide counseling support for persons who might have been traumatized by what has happened over the last few days and even the historical incidents over the last few months” the minister says.
The minister states that over the next few days there will be inconveniences and asks for the support of the public and civil society.
Photo: Wicnews.com
