Taiwan And Britain Provide Help
St. Lucia receives international assistance in fight against crime
St. Lucia is receiving international assistance in fighting crime from the governments of Taiwan and Britain, according to a report from the St. Lucian Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security.
The government release said that law enforcement personnel has received five new mobile patrol vehicles from Taiwan while Britain is providing training to local police in operating CCTV cameras, which National Security Minister, Guy Mayers, says will be received by the end of the year.
The government has also recently procurred two high-powered speed boats for the marine police.
"CCTV cameras don't go to sleep or take lunch break[s], neither do they have to [seek] shelter when it's raining. These are extra electronic eyes that the police will have. Once they are strategically located, the cameras will oversee 24/7 and assist the police tremendously," Mr. Mayers said.
Mayers, who is also responsible for Home Affairs, said police are also intensifying patrols in and around crime hot spots, and this will be one of the main areas of focus going forward.
Meanwhile, Britain's new High Commissioner to Barbados and the eastern Caribbean, Paul Brummell, said he looks forward to continuing working with the government and the people of St. Lucia on matters of common, including crime.
Mr. Brummell pointed out that the trafficking of illegal narcotics in and out of St. Lucia is one of the areas which will receive special attention.
"There is a lot of evidence to show that [crime] is closely linked to the drug trade. and so the flow of cocaine from South America through the eastern Caribbean to countries like the United Kingdom is indeed part of the problem, because cocaine hitting the UK causes immense economic and social damage to us as well ... and that's why the UK is very keen to work with St. Lucia and other governments in the region to combat the flow of cocaine," Brummell said.
The British official added, "This area of work is important on two fronts: firstly, because it targets the profits of drug traffickers, and also because the monies which are seized can be used by the government of St. Lucia in a very broad-based way to combat crime and its causes and consequences."
Mr. Brummell, a career diplomat, is based in Barbados.
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