St Lucia’s Prime Minister Stephenson King has warned that his government will crack down hard on criminals in the St. Lucia as unconfirmed reports surfaced that at least two persons were killed over the weekend.
Unconfirmed reports said that they were killed yesterday and another gun down on Friday as warring gangs engaged in drive by shootings.
The death toll for the year now stands at 12 and in his “State of the Nation” address last night, King acknowledged that many people are living in fear, because criminal elements have preyed on the minds of the youth as they attempt to destabilize the country and create chaos where previously there was peace and tranquility.
“Our quality of life is therefore being undermined and our economic and social development, on which this government continues to work so hard to advance, is under threat.
“…I wish to reiterate that this government will not allow our society and our way of life, to deteriorate to the extent that criminals feel they can operate with impunity. We must not, and will not allow criminal elements to dictate how we go about our daily lives, the things we do and the comfort of our families. We will not become prisoners in our own country,” King said.
He promised citizens that the criminal elements “will not and cannot win” and that “they will be hunted down; they will be found; they will be prosecuted; they will be judged and will be made to pay the consequences for the crimes committed against our peace loving and law abiding people.”
The Prime Minister outlined six basic elements of the crime strategy to guarantee the safety of the nation adding that his administration will continue to enhance the capacity and capability of the police, both in terms of hardware, training and numbers.
In addition, he said that representation has also been made to the United States for additional training and logistics support. (CMC)
