Crime/Justice, Local news, News

Man Injured In Bath Village Shooting

Published: 1 April 2017

St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN); RSCNPF Press Release:  Detectives from the Violent Crimes Unit (VCU) are investigating a shooting incident in Bath Village, Nevis that has resulted in injuries to one person.

The shooting occurred about 8.00pm on Saturday  (April 01).

Investigations revealed that the victim received a gunshot injury to his leg while in an altercation with two unknown assailants. He was transported to the Alexandra Hospital for treatment.

Anyone who may have seen the incident is asked to come forward and provide any information they may have to the Police.

You can do so by calling the Violent Crimes Unit at 465-2241, your community/neighbourhood Police Station or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477(TIPS) or by using the SKN Crime Reporter App on your Smartphone.

Author: Sourced Infor

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Crime/Justice, Local news, News

PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS COLLABORATE TO HOST MASSIVE ANTI-CRIME MARCH AND RALLY ON APRIL 04

Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 31, 2017 (MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY)—The Ministry of National Security teams up with the St. Kitts-Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Ministry of Education in organizing a massive anti-crime march and rally in St. Kitts on Tuesday 4th April, 2017.

The march and rally will involve students from all secondary schools in St. Kitts and selected primary schools, as well as students from AVEC, in shouting the rallying anti-crime cry: Stop ‘n’ Think before you proceed (to engage in undesirable, illegal or criminal activity).

The march will leave Taylor’s Range in the vicinity of Basseterre High School/ Washington Archibald High School at about 1:15 p.m., travel down Victoria Road, turn west along Cayon Street, down Church Street passing Government Headquarters, east on Liverpool Row, north up Fort Street, turning east on Central Street into Independence Square.

At Independence Square, there will be a rally. The programme will include remarks from Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris, Prime Minister, Hon. Shawn Richards, Deputy Prime Minister, and Dr. Neals Chitan, Crime Reduction Specialist. About 300 students who have been working with Dr. Chitan over the last twelve weeks in Project Stop and Think sessions will graduate and receive their Life Skills Achievement Certificates.

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Crime/Justice, Local news, News

Published 2 April, 2017
(l-R) Permanent Secretary Mr. Osmond Petty; Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris; Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Wallace
IMG_1874-e1491184036555

Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 02, 2017 (SKNIS): The St. Kitts and Nevis Defence Board met on Saturday April 1 to discuss important matters to the development and upkeep of the St. Kitts and Nevis Defence Force (SKNDF). The Board had not met for several years and has pledged to meet regularly. The Board had its first meeting under the Team Unity Administration on January 21, 2016.

The four member Defence Board comprises of Chairman, Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris; Attorney General, the Honourable Vincent Byron Jr; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, who is by law secretary of the Board, Mr. Osmond Petty, and Commander of the SKNDF, Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Wallace.

Lieutenant Colonel Wallace said that some of the matters discussed at the board meeting included promotion, training, complaints and support to the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force.

According to Mr. Petty, other matters on the agenda that were discussed included personnel matters and the establishment of a Commission Board that will be responsible for making recommendation to the governor general regarding persons to be rewarded a commission. He also reported that twenty-six (26) recruits were recently accepted for training in the SKNDF.

Mr. Petty also mentioned that the 34rd Annual Tradewinds Regional Training Exercise will be hosted in St. Kitts in 2018, which will afford local security forces to benefit from training in areas such as disaster relief/emergency response; land and maritime threats, including illicit drug trafficking; marksmanship and weapons handling skills; and military support to law enforcement. He said that this is an opportunity for the security forces to build capacity and for security officers to build life-long friendships with service members from other countries.

Additionally, Mr. Petty said that plans are afoot to link the SKNDF to the Guyana Defence Force for greater collaboration in training and similar exercises.

The Defence Board is a requirement of the St. Christopher and Nevis Defence Force Act, Chapter 19.14 of the revised laws of St. Christopher and Nevis. The revised date of the Act is December 2009. The primary function of the Board is to provide support in the running of the SKNDF, which comprises the Infantry and the Coast Guard. The Board has oversight for all the activities of the SKNDF.

Tradewinds is a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-directed, U.S. Southern Command-Sponsored annual exercise conducted in cooperation with Caribbean Basin partner nations. Tradewinds supports the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), as well as U.S. Southern Command’s theater security engagement goal of building partner nation capacity at the tactical and operational levels. The exercise is designed to conduct joint, combined and interagency training, which focuses on increasing regional cooperation for complex multinational security operations and humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations. The training is done in collaboration with the Allied Nations including the United Kingdom, Canada, France, the Netherlands and Suriname.

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Crime/Justice, International news, News

US praises Honduras while criticising Eastern Caribbean islands

Published on April 1, 2017

 

Honduras minister advisor for strategy and communications, Christa Castro

By Caribbean News Now contributor

WASHINGTON, USA — A report released last month by the US Department of State credits the Honduras government for reducing rates of homicide, kidnapping, and extortion in the Central American country, while being sharply critical of Eastern Caribbean islands for failing to curb drug trafficking and money laundering.

According to the State Department’s 2017 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), the Eastern Caribbean hosts abundant transshipment points for illicit narcotics, primarily from Venezuela destined for North American, European and domestic Caribbean markets.

The scathing report attributed the islands’ susceptibility to corruption and money laundering to “the high volume of narcotics trafficking around the islands”.

On the other hand, the Honduras government is steadfastly eliminating corruption among the Honduras National Police force, according to the US report. President Juan Orlando Hernández’s Police Purge Commission, created last year, removed 1,946 police officers by December. The commission continues to vet its officers — and is aiming to reach its goal of completing 14,000 personnel reviews by April.

The report also underscores the US government’s role in Honduras crime prevention and community programs, highlighting 40 US-supported outreach centres for at-risk youth.

“Over the past several years, the Honduran government has taken concrete steps to bolster its security and justice system, while combatting organized crime and drug trafficking,” said Christa Castro, minister advisor for strategy and communications for the government of Honduras. “The State Department report highlights the fruits of our labor — a safer country for all Hondurans.”

“The United States plays a key role in assisting vulnerable people in Honduras,” said Castro. “We look forward to continuing our work with the US government to improve the capacity of our justice system and ensure that civilians are protected.”

The State Department report details the efforts of the Honduran government to battle crime and drug trafficking from all sides — by stamping out corruption, strengthening security forces, and supporting at-risk populations.

“The results are visible,” the report concludes. “Rates of homicide, kidnapping, and extortion were down from 2015, and citizens’ impressions of the HNP are improving.”

Hernández is simultaneously spearheading human rights reforms within the Honduras Armed Forces, according to a separate State Department report. Over 4,500 service members had received human rights training as of August.

Meanwhile, assertions in the INSCR in relation to Antigua and Barbuda, all of which on their face are factually incorrect in general or in detail and for which no evidence was offered or sources quoted in the report, have been rejected publicly by the government of Antigua and Barbuda.

According to senior sources in other US government agencies, this has given rise to some very serious concern on the grounds that, if the State Department’s assertions of fact are shown to be baseless and/or unsupported by other government departments and agencies that should have been consulted, the inescapable implication is that US foreign policy is flawed because it is being driven by flawed or false intelligence and reporting.

Furthermore, if it can be shown that the adverse report in relation to Antigua and Barbuda was based upon “alternative facts” rather than reality, this will add weight to a suggestion that it was motivated by spitefulness and retaliation for Antigua’s recent efforts to enforce the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling and award against the US in relation to online gaming.

Since neither the State Department nor any of the other US government agencies and departments listed in the INSCR as having supplied relevant information for the report has responded to requests for comment and clarification, Caribbean News Now has filed a number of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for copies of related documents.

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Business, Crime/Justice, International news, Local news

US slams St Kitts-Nevis in money laundering and financial crimes report

Published on March 29, 2017

By LK Hewlett

BASSETERRE, St Kitts (WINN) — A US State Department report claims that St Kitts and Nevis “remains susceptible to corruption and money laundering and its deficient vetting of citizenship by investment candidates is also problematic”.

The scathing report, released in March, attributes the country’s susceptibility to corruption and money laundering to “the high volume of narcotics trafficking around the islands”.

On the matter of alleged weaknesses with the St Kitts and Nevis citizenship by investment (CBI) program, the State Department said, “St Kitts and Nevis derives a significant portion of its revenue from its program offering citizenship through investment; however, this program’s prior lax vetting created anti money laundering and security vulnerabilities domestically and internationally. Despite recent efforts to improve the application process and vetting procedures, the CIP continues to be afflicted by significant deficiencies in vetting candidates and conducting due diligence on passport and citizenship recipients after they receive citizenship.”

The report went on to charge that St Kitts and Nevis did not report passage of new enforcement legislation or prosecutions in 2016, and there have been no money laundering prosecutions or convictions since 2013.

The US government did acknowledge the fact that its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is engaging St Kitts and Nevis to evaluate if recent CBI improvements sustainably address US anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism concerns.

The report was also critical of the offshore sector in Nevis, saying financial oversight in Nevis remains problematic due to the federation allowing the creation of anonymous accounts, strong bank secrecy laws, and overall lack of transparency of beneficial ownership of legal entities.

It read, “The ambiguous regulatory framework regarding customer due diligence makes Nevis a desirable location for criminals to conceal proceeds.”

The US government advised that the government of St Kitts and Nevis should work toward transparency and accountability in financial regulation; and promote close supervision of the CBI program and be transparent in reporting monitoring results.

Republished with permission of West Indies News Network

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