Excerpts of Major St Clair Leacock’s presentation of the NDP’s Five Priorities)
“Over the last weeks, my colleagues and I have been articulating our priorities for a future NDP government. Our five top priorities are: create more and better paid jobs. build a better economy that provides opportunity for all, make our country safe again, provide healthcare you can trust and improve our roads and infrastructure.I want to speak to you about how we can make our country safe again. Crime is out of control in St. Vincent and the Grenadines affecting everyone directly or indirectly. In 2023, there were 55 homicides in St Vincent and the Grenadines, a record-breaking year. We have one of the highest rates of murder in the world, third in 2023.Praedial larceny is hurting our agriculture industry, hurting local businesses and preventing growth in this key sector of our economy. Yacht and boat crime is affecting our tourism industry, also damaging growth in a key pillar of our economy. Violence against women and girls is too high and not being addressed by the government. There is an average of 450 applications to the family court due to domestic violence and only one emergency shelter in the entire country.Prosecution rates for murders is low in our country. In 2023, the police defined 52 of the 55 killings as murder and have charged 13 people so far. In 2022, of the 42 homicides, 11 people were arrested and charged for murder while19 were arrested on suspicion but not charged. The government has not taken any action to tackle or reduce crime in St Vincent and the Grenadines. There has been no major policy developed or announcements on this, all the while the murder rate increases and crime is impacting the economy, preventing growth and hurting everyone’s finances.The government wants to bury its head in the sand and avoid talking about crime. The New Democratic Party knows that people are concerned about crime and its impact on them, their families, their homes and their businesses. We know it is an issue people care about unlike the ULP.The NDP has a comprehensive plan to reduce crime. We will invest in our police service, have a dedicated Minister of National Security, increase prison sentences, build another emergency shelter for women and provide better support and tackle the root causes of crime through growing the economy with our economic plan, the four pillars of the economy.What will the NDP do?The NDP has a plan to invest in our police services to get more officers on the ground with the technology they need to tackle the ongoing crime epidemic that St Vincent and the Grenadines is experiencing. The NDP recognizes that the growing levels of unemployment and poverty are leading contributors to the current rates of gun crime, which has become the only way some people can make money. We will tackle the root cause of crime through our economic plan, developing the four pillars of the economy.We will develop a closer collaboration with international law enforcement to cut the supply of weapons into our country and enhance our customs checks to stop guns entering our country. Have a dedicated Minister of National Security to a stand-alone role, giving the role the time and focus it needs. We will also build another emergency shelter for women and improve the counseling support available to those who need it. And, increase the prison sentences of those convicted of praedial larceny, ensuring those who commit the crime are sufficiently punished and sending a message to all that this crime will not be tolerated.We stand for upholding the law. Crime cannot be allowed to undermine our country. If we do not feel safe, little else matters. We will deliver a new approach to stop crime, investing in more police resources, reforming the current judicial process and focussing on crimes that tear at the fabric of our community such as homicide, domestic abuse and predial larceny. The NDP will be making crime fighting one of our most important priorities. We will develop a wide range effort to address crime and the root cause of crime. We will work with stakeholders at home and abroad to stop the spread of guns, tackle gangs and ensure that we have a police service that has the tools they need to tackle crime, in all its forms.”ULP has failed VincentiansOver the past years, we have seen crime become more prevalent in our communities and on our streets. The Gonsalves government has overseen one of the worst periods of our history and worryingly they offer no hope of an end in sight. The number of homicides so far this year stands at twenty (20). Most have been victims of gun violence, and there were other gun-related crimes that did not result in death. All are profoundly serious matters for our country.We reiterate that research has shown that there is a correlation between crime and unemployment. And, St. Vincent and the Grenadines has an unemployment crisis. Figures from the World Bank shows that youth unemployment is a staggering 41% of persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years.We further note that poverty has gotten worse. The report of the Poverty Assessment Study for the period 2008-2018, has still not been released by the government. But, a leaked copy of the report revealed that poverty in this country has gotten worse over that period of the ULP government, moving from 30.2% of the population in 2008 to over 36% in 2018. The ULP government does not have any plan to solve the serious crime situation in the country. The ULP has failed the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines.