Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 11, 2015 (SKNIS): Parliamentary Representative for Constituency #1, the Honourable Ian Patches Liburd, has urged law enforcement to forge deeper bonds with residents of East Basseterre in order to enlist greater cooperation from the public.
The Police High Command was congratulated for hosting a town hall meeting last month and engaging with residents. A number of positive exchanges took place at the event and both sides walked away with a greater spirit of collaboration. Honourable Liburd, who serves as the Minister of Public Infrastructure, Post, Urban Development and Transport, said it was a good start.
“We need to get out there to the people,” he stated. “Have a relationship with the people because once you get people comfortable they will speak.”
Developing community partnerships are an important part of the police’s Six Point Plan of Action to Reduce Homicides and Violent Crimes. It calls for deeper relations with community groups, walkthroughs of the community, a heightened media presence, and assistance in the creation of neighbourhood watches.
The plan also mentions the use of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and Minister Liburd advocated for such.
“We must have banks of workable CCTV cameras that feed back into the police station …,” he stated, noting that 24/7 monitoring will serve as a deterrent to antisocial activities and allow for quicker response times from law enforcement.
“That will help us in terms of solving the problems with crime,” the minister said.
The comments were made at this week’s “Working for You” on December 09.