“These incidents clearly indicate that the criminals are taking over the streets of Basseterre in what is truly an insurgency. It is clear that urgent and powerful action is required by law enforcement immediately to restore the safety of our streets while the measures proposed in the Government’s anti-crime initiative are put in place.”

The CIC recommended that in order to address this problem, swift mobilisation of the federation’s security forces be effected and assistance sought from the Regional Security System is necessary.

“We again strongly recommend to Government that our Security forces be immediately mobilised to take swift and decisive action to track down the illegal firearms and criminals, rather than simply reacting to crimes after they have been committed. lf local law enforcement is not willing or capable of taking the necessary action to address the situation in the very short term, then Government should bring in the RSS to assist.”

The CIC reaffirmed its support for the government’s anti-crime initiative but noted that it “reserves the right to mobilise Civil Society to take action within the law if a measure of stability is not restored to our community.”