 |
[Feedback] |
|
Crime Commission Starts Business
|
Crime Commission Starts Business
|
|
Thursday, September 20, 2001 –
The National Commission on the Prevention of Crime,
established by Government to probe the root causes of crime in Saint Lucian
society and to recommend effective solutions, will be formally launched next
month. On Wednesday, Attorney-General Senator Petrus Compton and Chairman of
the Commission, Professor Ramesh Deosaran who heads the Criminology and Criminal
Justice Centre at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus,
presided over a preliminary working session of the broad-based Commission. Professor Deosaran used the
opportunity to make it clear to members that the Commission was not set up as a
replacement for the Royal Saint
Lucia Police Force. “The police are statutorily committed to preserving law
and order,” he said. “Your main function is to
assist, collaborate and facilitate and join in an appropriate partnership so
that the police can accomplish what their major tasks are,” he added. “In
saying so, your task, your mission, they are indispensable to the role of the
police. The police can no longer do it by themselves and they have admitted
that.” Dr. Deosaran stressed that the acquisition of accurate information on
crime in Saint Lucia is essential if the Commission is to carry out its work
effectively. Assistant Commissioner of Police responsible for Operations and Training, Ausbert Regis, saw the Commission as significantly complementing the police in their day-to-day operations. He pointed out that the Police were just one entity in the whole crime fighting process. “There
are factors that go beyond law enforcement and there are factors that impact on
every sector of our society and what the Crime Commission will do hopefully is
to bring together the various stakeholders and the various entities, so we can
take a sort of multi-agency approach to fighting crime,” the senior lawman
explained.
Regarding the community’s
role in the fight against crime, Regis noted that with a police force of just
about 800 officers serving a population of over 150,000, there was an obvious
need for tighter collaboration and partnership with all sectors.
Each of the following have a representative on the Commission: the Government, the Opposition, Saint Lucia Hotel & Tourism Association, Industrial Solidarity Pact, Saint Lucia Manufacturers Association, Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, National Mothers & Fathers League, Saint Lucia Bar Association, National Youth Council, Saint Lucia Christian Council, Saint Lucia Industrial and Small Business Association, Business & Professional Women’s Club, and the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. |
|
© 2001 Government Information Service. All rights reserved. Read our privacy guidelines. |
