Opposition Chief Allen Chastanet has referred to as for pressing, cross-party efforts to deal with the escalating crime scenario in St. Lucia, describing it as “the worst crime disaster in our nation’s historical past.”
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Talking in a radio and tv broadcast on Thursday evening, the United Staff Get together (UWP) chief stated crime ought to by no means be a political situation, stressing that it “impacts all of us, no matter our political affiliation, our financial standing, or the place we stay.”
Chastanet, a former prime minister, famous that St. Lucia recorded 77 murders final yr, marking “the deadliest yr we had ever seen.” He highlighted a surge in firearm-related killings beneath the present St. Lucia Labour Get together (SLP) authorities of Prime Minister Phillip J. Pierre, with gun deaths rising from 5 out of each ten murders to only beneath eight out of ten.
“This tells us that our streets have been flooded with unlawful weapons whereas our police power has been starved of assets. The police finances was truly reduce whereas crime soared to document ranges. In 2024, our beloved St Lucia had the sixth-highest murder fee within the Caribbean at 42.8 per 100,000 individuals,” he stated. Chastanet contrasted this with Trinidad and Tobago, the place an identical murder fee has prompted a state of emergency.
Past the statistics, Chastanet warned of the broader societal affect, citing pressure on psychological well being providers and the healthcare system, with gunshot victims and assault instances overwhelming emergency rooms. He criticised the federal government for being “disorganised and smooth on crime,” noting the delay in appointing a Minister of Nationwide Safety and the disbanding of the K9 unit, with just one canine, Tyson, mysteriously poisoned.
“They failed to keep up our police scanners, leaving our officers working blind on the streets. The place we had constructed a community of over 1,200 CCTV cameras throughout the island, they’ve allowed this important infrastructure to fall into disrepair,” Chastanet stated. He added that the crime surge has coincided with “the collapse of the justice system,” with important proof disappearing from police custody.
Chastanet pledged that if the UWP wins the final election subsequent yr, it’ll set up a devoted CSI unit to make sure correct proof assortment and preservation. He additionally expressed concern over sexual assault allegations towards a senior police officer, warning that “when these sworn to guard turn into these we concern… our society is in grave hazard.”
The opposition chief criticised the federal government’s silence on rising crime, saying, “This silence is complicity. It’s an abdication of the sacred accountability that comes with management. This administration has been smooth on crime, with no accountability and solely excuses.”
Chastanet recalled an open letter he wrote to Prime Minister Pierre two years in the past, providing concrete options and the UWP’s help for cross-party collaboration. “That letter was ripped to shreds. These suggestions had been ignored. And within the two years since, our scenario has solely gotten worse,” he stated.
