st lucia

PM calls for bipartsan approach to tackle crime

Castries (CMC):

The St Lucia government yesterday called for a bipartisan approach to dealing with the crime situation in the country.

In a statement to Parliament, Prime Minister Stephenson King said that there will be a joint sitting of parliament later this month allowing legislators an opportunity to debate the issue.

King said that St Lucia has been under siege from criminal elements for over a decade and the time has come to take "firm and decisive action".

He said that since 1998 there has been an annual increase in the number of homicides and last year, the figure reached 48.

Prime Minister King said government has hammered out a comprehensive national crime fighting strategy which he will unveil during the special joint sitting of the parliament.

"The unescapable truth is that despite our respective efforts thus far crime continues to be the country's number one problem and will continue to be as long as we continue to fight each other rather than combine our efforts against crime," the prime minister added.

He said that the government strategy will entail the engagement and coordination of the resources of government, families, civil society, the private sector, political parties and other stakeholders, adding that the idea was not to claim accolades for any single grouping.

Shared vision needed

"At the heart of all these efforts will be the concept of enforcement, the strengthening of the family structure and our community. Once we meet and can agree on a shared vision and the strategies moving forward, we will ensure that all the agencies identified will be given the resources necessary for the execution of the plan," King said.

"We are in this together...it serves no good purpose to rehash as self serving statements that may have been made in the heat of an election campaign, whether by the opposition St Lucia Labour Party or the incumbent United Workers Party," he added.

Stephenson King, prime minister of St Lucia.