CASTRIES, St. Lucia – St. Lucia’s National Security Minister Guy Mayers says his government came close to declaring a state of emergency here earlier this year when it was faced with a spate of rising crime, but was discouraged by the effect the move would have on the economy.
Commenting on the move by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to call a state of emergency in an effort to quell rising crime Mayers said his government considered the move when heightened criminal gang activity earlier this year resulted in 15 homicides during the first three months of 2011.
“We operate as a region so we are looking on with interest at what is happening in Trinidad and Tobago. And yes at the height of the problems we were having here earlier this year, a state of emergency in the hot spots was certainly one of the options that were considered.
“When you are going through that kind of difficulty you have to weigh all of your options, but we did not think we had reached a point where we needed to implement such a measure in St. Lucia,” the Minister said.
He said the crime situation earlier this year promoted law authorities to launch “Operation Restore Confidence” during which heavily armed police went into hot spots and directly confronted gang leaders and other offenders who were well known to the Police. Frequent exchanges resulted in the killing of 11 criminal suspects by the police. (CMC)
