By Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Thursday 29th August 2024)- Two top-ranking officers of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF) are asking parents and the broader community to actively contribute to safeguarding minors as part of ongoing efforts to uphold public order and ensure the wellbeing of the youth.
At a police press conference held on Thursday 29th August, 2024 at ZIZ Studios at Camp Springfield, Police Commissioner James Sutton and Deputy Police Commissioner Cromwell Henry addressed concerns raised by a reporter regarding public criticisms that the police would not have a continuity plan concerning the recently announced enforcement details in relation to Criminal Law Amendment Act which orders that any child under 16 found wandering or loitering on the streets after 10 p.m. without a valid reason will face police intervention. Responding to the query, Sutton stated, “I would disagree.
To deal with children, it must be a multiple agency approach. The police are limited just to enforcing the law. We have to reach out to the Ministry of Social Services and the Education Department.” He further emphasized the need for a compassionate approach when dealing with children under this law.
“Even though the law is there, the law is rigid, but we have to have that empathy in dealing with children. We have to cry for the best. The best way of addressing this concern.” He also noted that the law has been in existence for some time but had not been actively enforced.
“As you may be aware, this has been on the books for quite some time. It was just sleeping. We just want to, in an effort to address crime holistically, we thought it was necessary to just bring it into the domain of our discussion.
We intend to go further with it with regards to having the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Services involved as well.” Henry echoed the importance of a collaborative approach, stressing that addressing crime, particularly involving minors, requires the involvement of the entire society. “As we always say, the issue of crime and addressing crime has to be an all-ofsociety approach.
We have to use the all-of-society approach.” He highlighted the crucial role that parents and guardians play in preventing children from being on the streets late at night. “And it cannot be just the police picking up children off the streets.
What happens to the parents? What happens to their responsibility to ensure that their children are not on the street?
