St Vincent Opposition leader Dr Godwin Friday Says Time To Stem The Crime Spree In SVG
The New Democratic Party (NDP) remains deeply concerned with the rising level of homicides in this country, especially after having two consecutive years of record homicides.
The most recent incident, the heinous chopping to death of James Gould earlier this month brought the homicide count in our once-blessed nation to 18 this year.
His death in but the latest in a seemingly rash spell of brutal murders that undoubtedly affects Vincentians to the very core.
The seemingly endless reports of homicides, attempted homicides and wounding are creating a fast-growing feeling of fear and insecurity among the people of this country and must be viewed against the backdrop of the broader crime situation which includes everything from praedial larceny and robberies through to excessive corruption.
Since taking office the number of murders committed in a single year have expanded exponentially.
The Vincentian public have long lost confidence in the capacity of the existing security forces to bring crime under control and are disenchanted with the Justice system to the point where some communities and individuals are now taking matters into their own hands through vigilante-type activities.
In contrast, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and the ULP have, within twenty-four hours of an uncorroborated assassination attempt in Venezuela, issued a strongly worded public condemnation and justified a rally in support of President Nicolas Maduro.
Yet they maintain an apparent indifference to the murders and criminal mayhem that have overtaken our country. The question must therefore be asked, where do the lives of Vincentians fall relative to President Nicolas Maduro?
The NDP calls on the government, particularly the Minister of National Security, to be proactive and bring the nation together to address crime, and crime-related issues in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The once much-vaunted ‘Contract with Civil Society’ spoke so much about collective action in the public interest only to be cast aside, left gathering dust while the leadership engages in the usual bravado of how well the nation is doing – a truly blinkered perspective if ever there was one.
The NDP urges The Vincentian public to be vigilant. Let us unite to take back our country from the criminal elements who are anxious to take us down a horrible path of death and destruction.
We implore anyone with information that might assist the police in their investigations to provide it to the police and we call on the police to redouble their efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Source By: news784
