Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. Terrance Drew, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to tackling crime and violence through a comprehensive and holistic strategy, framing the issue as a public health concern. Speaking at the “Beyond the 90 Days” forum earlier today, 5th December, Dr. Drew emphasised the importance of community involvement in addressing crime and noted significant progress in reducing violence in the Federation.
The forum marked the conclusion of the government’s 90-Day Campaign Against Crime and Violence, an initiative launched to bring together stakeholders from all sectors, including law enforcement, community organisations, educators, and religious groups, to collaboratively address crime and violence.
“To deal with it from a law enforcement perspective alone will never, ever be sufficient. All of the models that approach this matter from a law enforcement perspective alone, they have not been successful. Partially successful in spurts, you implement something, it comes down, it goes up, fluctuating like this throughout the Caribbean. The data showed 25 years ago or more that it will come down and up but continuously drift upwards, and if you look across the region, you will recognise it.
“Looking at it from a public health perspective encompasses .. mostly all of what we consider to be, the necessary approaches in dealing with crime and violence,” said Dr. Drew, who is also the CARICOM Lead on Health matters.
Prime Minister Drew highlighted the importance of community engagement in achieving the campaign’s goals. The 90-Day Campaign included consultations with political parties, civil society groups, and government officials. He emphasised that the community is responsible for the results obtained so far. He also referenced a 66 percent reduction in murders (from an average of three per month to three in three months) during the campaign period. This decline was not coincidental but rather the outcome of targeted, community-driven efforts, Dr. Drew noted.
The prime minister credited the implementation of preventative and rehabilitative measures as crucial factors in reducing crime. These measures include offering participants in the ELEVATE programme educational opportunities, job readiness training, and support for reintegration into society.
Additionally, efforts were made to identifying the root causes of criminal behaviour, including testing for learning disabilities and providing psychosocial support for at-risk individuals.
To ensure sustained progress, Dr. Drew spoke to the establishment of the Citizen Security Secretariat. This body will be embedded within the governance framework to provide ongoing support for crime prevention initiatives and ensure that the strategies developed during the campaign remain active and effective.
Dr. Drew lauded the contributions of local and regional experts, including St. Kitts and Nevis’ own Dr. Izben Williams, who has long advocated for a public health approach to crime and violence in the Caribbean. He highlighted that this shift in perspective has gained traction across the region, with countries increasingly adopting holistic, data-driven solutions.
While celebrating the successes of the 90-Day Campaign, Dr. Drew acknowledged that there is still much work to be done.
“We have to continue to thrive because each loss of life is a significant loss. We are talking about real people, real families, real communities and therefore as much as possible we have to work to eliminate this from our society, and the society determines what it eliminates and what it does not eliminate because the issue is a societal issue and so let us continue to work hard and smart and intelligently to implement these principles so that they can continue to redound to the benefits for all of our people,” Prime Minister Drew urged, highlighting the critical role of societal cohesion in creating a safer St. Kitts and Nevis.
While the 90-Day Campaign ends, the efforts continue under the broader national theme Citizen Security: Partnership for Safer Communities.
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