Amid what appears to be a national consensus that the courts are delivering judicial slaps on the wrist for some serious crimes, the President of the Saint Lucia National Youth Council (SLNYC) has called for a change.
Yaniqueca Jean-Bart William spoke during a St. Lucia Times interview, against the backdrop of an alarming spike in homicides – 53 so far for the year.
Many of the homicides involve young people as victims and perpetrators.
The SLNYC President suggested the perception of minimal penalties for some crimes could be one factor contributing to criminal activity.
“For example, you’ll hear people say, “Oh, I can pay money and just go and sit at Bordelais (Correctional Facility) for you,” Jean-Bart William stated, referencing court fines for certain offences.
She described such an attitude as ridiculous.
The NYC President asserted that people should not want the experience of going to prison.
“When you hear a person say that, it means there are some flaws in the law that we need to fix. I am not saying if somebody kills you need to execute them. I don’t believe in taking someone’s life,” Jean-Bart William told St. Lucia Times.
Nevertheless, she suggested that getting away lightly with relatively minor offences, could lead to committing bigger ones.
“So we need to restore confidence in the law,” the SLNYC President declared.
She praised the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) for continuing to fight crime, including frequent firearm and ammunition recoveries.
“They are working, but we really need to restore confidence in the law and also nip crime in the bud,” Jean-Bart William said.
In this regard, she noted the need to tackle ‘low hanging fruit’ such as illegal parking.
The SLNYC President described such offences as being relatively petty.
However, she warned that unless consistently addressed, people would believe they could get away with breaking the law and become emboldened to commit serious transgressions.
Some of the concerns Jean-Bart William expressed came up recently at a meeting of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders in Grenada.
The leaders discussed strengthening their countries’ legislative responses to violent crime, firearm trafficking, and corruption.
Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell told an end-of-summit news conference that the leaders also discussed a regional approach to comprehensively reviewing all firearms-related legislation.
According to Mitchell, an Attorney at Law, the empirical data was clear that many of the most violent crimes, particularly those associated with firearms, are committed by persons who are known to the police, who are known to the law, and who often are on bail.
