Stakeholders Unite to Secure Rodney Bay Strip Amid Rising Visitor Incidents

Debushing and beautification on Friday marked the first step in addressing concerns about crimes against visitors reported in Rodney Bay—particularly along the Rodney Bay Strip and Flamboyant Drive—authorities told St Lucia Times.

Police report that in December 2024 and January 2025, there was a rise in incidents involving visitors, prompting the implementation of a strategy aimed at eliminating factors that enable criminal activity.

“For a crime to occur, three components are required: location, a victim, and a motivated offender. In this case, we’re removing one of those aspects as a means of prevention,” said Superintendent of Police with oversight of the northern division, Stephen Victorin, in an interview with St Lucia Times.

Authorities say steps to maintain safety in the area are being taken through collective effort by the business community, as well as tourism and government stakeholders.

Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA) CEO, Noorani Azeez said business owners in the area had reported concerns to the organisation “about incidents of criminal activity and violent crime activity against some of our visitors and locals in the area”.

This raised fears about the potential impact on businesses and economic activity, leading to discussions between the SLHTA, the Gros Islet branch of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF), the Fire Service, the Chamber of Commerce, the Manufacturers Association, the Saint Lucia Villa Association, and the Rodney Bay Homeowners Association, Azeez disclosed.

The Gros Islet Town Council and its staff played a key role in executing Friday’s activities, helping to identify areas in need of debushing and carrying out the work alongside the Fire Department.

Surrounding businesses are also contributing to the initiative by providing financial support. “We’re very thankful to the business community, the restaurants, and hotels in the area who’ve been able to support the initiative through donations, both financially and in terms of advice and manpower,” Azeez added.

Following the debushing, additional measures will be taken to improve the surroundings. 

“We also intend to enhance the lighting within the Gros Islet, Rodney Bay area,” Victorin shared. “We do have some areas with lighting apparatus installed, but they are yellow lights. So, our recommendation is to change those to the brighter white LED lights and install lights where none exist. We are in discussion with a community member to execute that aspect of the project. We also intend to increase the police presence within Gros Islet, Rodney Bay.”

Clarifying current operations at the Rodney Bay Police Station, which is located on the Rodney Bay Strip, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Elvis Thomas told St Lucia Times, “The police station was never really closed but was operating minimally. The main activity happens at the Gros Islet Resource Centre, but operations are still continuing to a lesser extent here. We do ensure that we do our best in spite of limited constraints to provide service to the people.”

Some regular visitors, speaking anonymously, shared that upon returning to the island for a temporary stay in Flamboyant Drive, they were surprised to hear of recent incidents, including one where a father was targeted by criminals while ushering his family. However, they said they were not overly concerned and wished to highlight the voices of locals on the matter.

Addressing public criticism about the attention police give to crimes against visitors compared to locals, Victorin said, “It may seem that the focus is on visitors—that may only be because it’s most impactful. The impact of one visitor being violated—that one visitor posts a comment, which is available to the entire world. So, I don’t think I need to impress the impact, as we are an economy that depends very much on tourism. We understand that the ripple effect is unacceptable.”

“We, as police, are also concerned about home, so there’s no way that we disregard the safety of our residents. It may seem that, at this point, we are prioritising visitor safety, but it is of great interest to us. We must keep our people safe before we can keep anybody safe.”