Gov't to get tough on crime

Castries (CMC):

Prime Minister Stephenson King has warned that his government would crack down hard on criminals in St. Lucia as police confirm that at least three persons were killed over the weekend.

The police said that the killings occurred on Sunday as warring gangs engaged in drive-by shootings.

The death toll for the year now stands at 15 and in his State of the Nation address on Sunday night, Prime Minister King acknow-ledged that: many St Lucians live in fear, because criminal elements have preyed on the minds of the youth as they attempt to destabilise the country and create chaos where previously citizens enjoyed peace and tranquility.

"Our quality of life is therefore being undermined and our economic and social development, on which this government continues to work so hard to advance, is under threat," he said.

He promised citizens that the criminal elements "will not and cannot win" and that "they will be hunted down; they will be found; they will be prosecuted; they will be judged and will be made to pay the consequences for the crimes committed against our peace-loving and law-abiding people."