Home Affairs Minister calls for tighter border security
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Contact: Julita Peter
Monday, October 12, 2009 – The Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Senator the Honourable Guy Mayers, has called for the tightening of security at the island’s borders, especially as Saint Lucia, according to the minister, has become known as one of the transhipment points for illegal substances within the Eastern Caribbean.
Senator Mayers says, with the right quantity of small vessels and man power, the island could guard against the proliferation of drug related transactions that take place on its waters.
“There are small fishing boats—fast fast boats—coming from South America, or coming from Martinique. In other instances, drugs are being transported from Saint Lucia to Martinique. We have very porous borders, and we need to properly protect our borders,” Senator Mayers said.
The Home Affairs minister believes there is a correlation between activities at the borders and the homicides that occur at the community level.
He says one of the measures that being instituted to address the situation is increasing manpower in the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force and Marine Police.
“We need to replenish our officers. We are now starting that process. But as I always say, to get a trained police officer, it takes at least six to eight months.”
There are plans to enlist another batch of recruits as soon as the present batch completes training in January 2010. |
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