Published 1 May 2018
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
By: Media Source
Allegations of political interference and favouritism in CFBC/UWI teaching programme
Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 29, 2018 – Concerns that political interference, manipulation and favouritism in the teaching programme at the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) resulted in a protest by persons affected last week.
Published 1 May 2018
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
By: Media Source
Police Commissioner Queeley joins colleagues in Jamaica
Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 1, 2018 – Commissioner of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force Mr. Ian Queeley is in Jamaica to attend the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP) conference from April 30 to May 4.
Published 30 April 2018
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
TEAM UNITY GOVERNMENT’S INVESTMENT IN NATIONAL SECURITY UNPARALLELED
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, April 30, 2018 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The Team Unity-led Government of St. Kitts and Nevis continues to demonstrate its commitment to maintaining peace and security in the country, highlighted by an unprecedented investment in the national security infrastructure in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The latest evidence of the government’s resolve to make St. Kitts and Nevis a safer nation came in the form of the commissioning of the new state-of-art forensic laboratory at the compound of the Tabernacle Police Station.
Speaking at Friday’s (April 27) commissioning ceremony, Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris said that his government recognizes that the peace, prosperity and progress of the country must be given significant attention, “and that is why we have been investing more and more in the national security infrastructure.”
In December 2017, the government allocated EC$75.5 million to the Ministry of National Security for the 2018 fiscal year–EC$3.5 million more than what was allotted to that ministry in 2017.
The appropriation of $75.5 million for 2018 represents the largest budgetary support ever made towards the crime fighting efforts in St. Kitts and Nevis. In 2014, the Ministry of National Security received $15.3 million; in 2015, $20.7 million; and in 2016, it was allocated a total of $63 million.
“We did that because our inheritance was a bad one,” Dr. Harris said, adding that when his government came into office in 2015, it met a situation where the national security infrastructure was in disrepair.
This included dilapidated police stations in St. Paul’s, New Castle in Nevis, Old Road and in Sandy Point, as well as inadequate army barracks and vehicle fleet which resulted in demoralized workers, low detection rates and an uncooperative public in reporting crime.
“In order to consecrate the future my government has been tackling all these problems and issues and more. The culture of silence by the public in respect to crime meant that alternative mechanisms, science and technology had to be brought into vogue and practice in order to restore public safety and security,” said Prime Minister Harris, who is also Minister of National Security.
The government is also expected to continue its roll out of the Cities and Roadways Surveillance System CCTV Project. Phase one of the project covered Basseterre, Frigate Bay and their environs.
Prime Minister Harris stated that plans are in place for the commencement of phase two of the project shortly, which will cover more rural communities, particularly in the White Gate area.
Published 30 April 2018
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
ANOTHER MAJOR PROMISE KEPT BY TEAM UNITY GOVERNMENT—NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART FORENSIC LAB
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, April 30, 2018 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The commissioning of the new state-of-the-art forensic laboratory, constructed on the compound of the Tabernacle Police Station, represents another major promise that has been delivered by the Team Unity-led Government of St. Kitts and Nevis.
An impressive ceremony was held on Friday, April 27, to mark the landmark opening of the new forensics department. That ceremony was attended by scores of individuals, including the Governor General, His Excellency Sir S. W. Tapley Seaton, ministers of the Federal Cabinet and other high-level government officials, the High Command of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, as well as the top brass of the other law enforcement agencies, and residents of Tabernacle and its surrounding communities.
Also on hand to witness the opening of the new facility were six officials from the neighbouring island of Antigua and Barbuda.
Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, stated that the opening of the forensic lab represents significant progress in his Government’s mission to upgrade the forensic capabilities of the Police Force and bring it in line with international best practices.
“The peace, order, safety and security and good governance are responsibilities which our Cabinet takes very seriously,” Prime Minister Harris said, while noting that through the opening of the new forensic laboratory his government has enhanced the security force’s capacity to consolidate the peace, safety and security of the entire country.
The National Security Minister further stressed that the offerings and capabilities of the forensic laboratory will help expedite the analysis of samples and also speed up the investigative process. It is also expected to further strengthen legal cases, the rate of conviction, as well as deter crime, in light of its ability to identify perpetrators with a high degree of confidence in the validity of its findings.
The prime minister added, “The quality of the equipment, and therefore the quality of the services that we are being provided here [tells me] that we have the best facility, equipment wise, anywhere in the Caribbean…and there are only six other countries that have the kind of facility that we now boast of.”
Leading up to the opening of the new laboratory, members of the Forensic Department in the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force completed a three-week forensic awareness training course, which focused on analyzing gunshot residue, as well as DNA and sexual assault evidence. That training was conducted by experts from Cellmark Forensic Services.
“We are expecting quite a lot from you,” Dr. Harris told the staff of the Forensic Department. “We are expecting quicker results and we are expecting a much more comprehensive response to the issues of criminal activity in the country.”
With the opening of the brand new lab, all forensic exhibits for analysis will now be processed by the Forensic Department of the Police Force. In the past, these exhibits were typically sent to crime labs overseas for analysis.
Published 30 April 2018
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
Government investing in national security infrastructure to restore public safety and security
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, April 30, 2018 (PLP PR Media Inc.) — Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr the Hon Timothy Harris, on Friday April 27 commissioned on the grounds of Tabernacle Police Station the most modern forensic laboratory in the Caribbean, and only the sixth such laboratory in the world.
