Thursday, June 25, 2009

SLP says put police, not politicians in charge of crime Police express frustration

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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Politicians sucks.

BEACH BUM said...

SLP is wrong again.
How to put police in charge of crime?

They probably meant 'in charge of fighting crime'.

Anonymous said...

BEACH BUM, you said, slp wrong again, and some non sense about police in charge of crime, I just read the passage and i DID NOT SEE that in there. Point out where you saw that that to me. When you all have your political axe to grind, you must be accurate in your statements, because there are people who will discover your LIES. You guys or gals are so bright, you even want to tell people what they should have said, or what they probably meant.

BEACH BUM said...

I prefer correct English, but everybody is free to choose as they please.

Anonymous said...

Is this not the same St. Lucia Labour Party that between 2003-2006 saw at least 140 St. Lucians murdered while the political buffoon at the helm of The Ministry could only chant inanities and walk up and down at murder sites looking at the crime scene ?
Was this not the St. Lucia Labour Party whose leader Dr. Kenny Anthony had to beg Menissa Rambally to give him solutions as how to tackle crime ?
Was this not the same St. Lucia Labour Party whose leader BEGGED criminals to “give St. Lucians a break” then lied for six years denying that statement until Helen Television System (after the 2006 Elections) “uncovered” the tape of the SLP Political Leader making the statement hereby proving that not only was he grossly incompetent but also a liar. What a role model for our children !!
The article says that:
“According to the Castries Central Constituency Group, the present situation “reflects the failure of a number of highly publicized initiatives” attempted by Government to resolve crime.
Was it not Kenny Anthony who said in 2003:
“I will be addressing the nation in the next few days on matters of security here in Saint Lucia and the Saint Lucian public will have to be advised that there are a number of new measures that will have to be put in place here in Saint Lucia to cope with problems that have arisen over the past few months and of course in previous years. Small countries like ours that are open and with gateways to the international community can be utilised very, very effectively because it is well known that given our tourism industry and our lack of resources, that we do not pay the kind of attention that we need to pay to these matters,” said Dr. Anthony.

Amazing because following that St. Lucia went on an unpresented crime spree for the next three years until the voters booted out Kenny D. Anthony in December 2006. Please explain to me what “new measures” these were ?

Was it not the same St. Lucia Labour Party led by Kenny Anthony that ran up the national debt from $450 million to $1,600 million guaranteeing that we did not have the money to pay for the law and order initiatives required to combat crime ?

My comments above in no way excuses the United Workers Party as you will see I have not even mentioned their names and they seem to be as incapable of solving this problem as the previous lot.
Our problem has to do with our political culture and our national mindset and the persons we put in office. We are no better off under the UWP than we were under the SLP and this law and order situation is representative of the “rock and a hard place” situation we are in.

Anonymous said...

We will never be able to beat crime is we do not change our political. social and cultural mindset. Crime is party blind, yet we treat it as a Labour and UWP thing. How about changing the constitution to make the Office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Ministry of National Security politically independent? How about creating a predictable, secure source of funding for crime prevention through a Sin Tax? How about Government reducing the amount of money it puts into carnival and increasing the amount of money it gives to CARE and Upton Gardens that give young men a women a second chance? How about transforming the Prison into a production/economic unit that gives inmates the opportunity to learn a skill and earn a salary? We cannot effectively treat crime in a business as usual manner. we need fresh bold ideas and strategies.

CSi

Anonymous said...

I quite agree with the above.
Where I differ is that you have advanced excellent specific policy proposals that will work but I am more of the opinion that our problem is that we lack the correct philosophical approach to Governance in St. Lucia. This Caribbean wide failed philosophy is represented by the failure of our political class that to a large extent has been nurtured by a self-centered socialist and liberal culture coming out of out learning institutions.
What exactly is the role of Government ?
What are our short, medium and long term priorities? One of the greatest failures of the SLP during the 1997 -2006 period was a failure to prioritize. With their infantile and clueless approach (born out of their lack of experience and arrogance plus the ignorance of the electorate and media – except for two particular exponents of that trade) they did C before A and concentrated on their political survival ( jobs for the boys) instead of the effective governance of St. Lucia.
Are there answers?
Yes. It is possible to transform an effective philosophical approach of governance into practical policy initiatives but unfortunately our cultural mindsets, philosophical view and the goals of our political class make us closer to Haiti than Miami. Even the continuous failure of our security system, our educational system, our economic system cannot change us as we have been offered no alternative that represents a way out of this quagmire.

Anonymous said...

We have to start somewhere and striek as many bases as we can; and I believe the best place to start is constitutional and legal reform that will limit the ability of politicians to treat law and order as a political football. We need independent thinking individuals and institutions charged with the preservation of law and order. We need an Attorney General that will protect the Constitution and take firm and fearless action against those in the executive arm that break the laws. We need to ensure that Government is not scrambling to find money to fight crime through a law that dicates that the proceeds of a "sin tax" should go into a dedicated fund. We need a true prison reform system that rehabilitates inmates and does not merely incarcerate them. We need laws that hold parents more accountable for the actions of their children and programs that at a very early age help children to accept personal responsibility for their actions. We need stiffer laws for accomplices of crime. Virtually every criminal has an accomplice, whether in the family the workplace or the community. What we need is stronger resolve to tackle crime in all is social economic and cultural dimensions.

CSi

Anonymous said...

BEACH BUM, Now you attacking the messenger instead of the message, i wish you good luck with your correct english. You understood what i came across with anyway. The english language is so complicated, that same of us is not aware we not correct until we are corrected by a professional, that also goes to you.

That person who highlighted Kenny mistakes, i want to know where was Kenny name mentioned in the article.? I want to let you know that in 9 yrs of Kenny rule was the period in which St Lucia say the most development in history. I want to ask that person, where will you ever find a government in this world who will not make mistakes? That is how this present worthless government came in power in Lucia, Kenny mistakes was highlighted every day all over the media. They claimed they will do better, and 2.5 yrs latter, they cannot point out ONE good thing they have done, only scandals after scandals. If Kenny was so bad he should be loved by the uwpeees because it is because of him that they are in power today and he will keep them in power. That same Kenny WILL be back in power whenever election is called.

curvy_girl said...

I agree with Beach Bum.
What does SLP stand for?

St. Lucia Party or
Saint Labor Party?

Why don't they call it SLLP, meaning St. Lucia Labor Party?

Anonymous said...

CURVY_GIRL, no body said slp is any saint, they made mistakes, when in government as every government does. Now they are in opposition and it is their job is to put pressure on the non performing government, like the one we have in St Lucia today. you must go to St Lucia one day and ask people to show you all the work the labour did in the country for 9 yrs. I think you will be impressed, then ask them to show you 2.5 yrs. work of the uwp, they will tell of all the scandals they have had instead.

Anonymous said...

You must add $250 million, that uwp borrowed to the national debt, at the last sitting of the house, plus all what they had borrowed before. So now we all are seeing it is not only slp who borrowed.

Anonymous said...

No public man can be just a little crooked.
- Herbert Hoover

LuciaBoy said...

I do not have a problem with a politician who is trying to implement programs in his/her constituency which he/she thinks will contribute to a harmonious relationship between the people of that constituency or even warring factions of gangs, as misguided as he may be.

My issue is to whom does this politician's loyalty lies. Is it with the people of St. Lucia as a whole or to that pocket.
How confident are in believing that this politician is not undermining the work of the police to curry political favour with the criminal elements of the constituency.

We must be careful not to cast aspersions but we must always maintain a healthy dose of skepticism when we see politicians being too chummy with criminal elements of the society.
Before too long we are creating a cadre of goons who are willing to do anything to ensure that their man/woman wins at the polls.

Jamaica provides us with an excellent example of what can transpire is terms of the creation of Dons and garissons (zones of political exclusion). Please do not visit that upon our country whether wittingly or unwittingly. Once that genie gets out of the bottle ther is no putting it back.

We all must come together to make life miserable for the criminals who prey on the innocent,the helpless, and also the hard working people of our beloved country.