Articles - News

   The Saint Lucia Labour Party calls on Prime Minister Stephenson King, Tourism Minister Allan Chastanet and Investment Minister Rufus Bousquet to explain why they are keeping secret the problems that now plague the Ritz Carlton Hotel Project proposed for Black Bay, Vieux Fort.

Based on revelations made by Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Kenny D. Anthony at a public meeting held on the market steps last Thursday May 20, this much talked about hotel project is now in jeopardy and will very likely not be constructed.

Dr. Anthony explained that upon assuming office in December 2006, Tourism Minister Allen Chastanet and then Economic Planning and National Development Minister Ausbert d’Auvergne along with then NDC Chairman Nicholas John, abandoned the SLP Government’s previous plans to sell some 228 acres of land to the developers for cash, and decided instead to contribute the land in exchange for preference shares in the hotel.

The UWP Government boasted at the time that it had found a better and more secure financing formula for the project.

Using the land contributed by the King Government as security, the company approached a European Bank named Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander Ltd and obtained a loan of US$23,000,000.00 to undertake the project.

Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander Ltd has now collapsed, the loan has gone bad and the Bank’s receivers have decided to claim against the security (Saint Lucia’s 228 acres).

The Government must explain what has happened with the US$23,000,000 borrowed by the Ritz Carlton Developers and how it plans to save the country’s 228 acres of land, valued at millions of dollars from being seized without compensation.

Prime Minister King and his ministers must also explain why they are allowing people, particularly residents of the southern region to remain in the dark on this matter with false hope that this project is coming to Black Bay?

   The number of homicides in St. Lucia has hiked to 21, as another four individuals lose their lives to gun violence over the weekend.

Two women were among the shooting victims.

One of the victims, forty-nine-year-old Vernon Gillard, of Marchand Boulevard, Castries, was shot in the head, about 5:15am, on Saturday 22nd May. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

His death was followed by the shooting of Simone Smith, 44 years old, originally of Saltibus but resided at Black Mallet, Marchand. Smith was shot in the head around 5:30am, while she stood in her doorway. She died at the scene.

Another female, identified as Lauren Martial -42 years old of Marchand Boulevard, was shot in the chest around this same period. She survived the attack and is currently a patient at the Victoria Hospital.

Meanwhile, a young man was also shot in the mouth at Marchand and he too is patient at the Victoria Hospital.

Randy Eleuthere, 29 years old of Coolie-Town, quarter of Castries, lays third among the fatalities. He was shot several times about the body, by another man while he was in an area next to a plaza at Marigot, quarter of Castries, about 8:45pm on Saturday 22nd of May, 2010.

Eleuthere was taken to the Victoria Hospital where he later died. Police are yet to establish the motive for this shooting.

A Jamaican national, identified as Gregory Ian Emmanuel, claimed the last spot on the list of fatalities.

Gros-Islet Police have launched an investigation into the death of the 44-years-old who was shot in the head while on the premises of Happy Day Bar at Rodney-Bay, Gros-Islet, about 1:00am, on Tuesday 25th May, 2010.

He was taken to the Victoria Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The motive has not been established and police have made no arrest in relation to this incident, as well as those previously mentioned.

   Security Ministers of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will be locked in talks with the United States at the Inaugural Caribbean-United States (U.S.) Security Cooperation Dialogue today, 27 May, towards a security cooperation arrangement to tackle criminal and security threats to the region.

St. Lucia will be represented by H.E. Michael Louis, Ambassador to Washington.

Home Affairs and National Security Minister Guy Mayers will not be attending to address the current crime situation the country faces at present.

Mr. Mayers has been engaging in talks with police authorities and the Prime Minister to find measures to curb the current spate of violence overshadowing the country.

The Security Dialogue, slated for Washington D.C., USA, is in keeping with a commitment made by U.S. President Barack Obama at the 5th Summit of the Americas held in Trinidad and Tobago in April 2009, to pursue a security partnership with the Caribbean through a Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI).

Since the Summit, CARICOM and U.S. officials have met jointly to define and develop the goals and scope of the CBSI, which has been rationalised as a “multi-year, multi-faceted effort by the US Government and Caribbean partners to develop a joint regional citizen safety strategy to tackle the full range of security and criminal threats to the Caribbean Basin.”

Senator Dr the Honourable Errol Cort, Chairman of the CARICOM Council for National Secuirty and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) will lead the CARICOM delegation.

US Attorney General Eric Holder is among the Washington officials who will be in dialogue with the CARICOM delegation.

Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela will conduct the opening ceremony on the US side while Secretary for Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has been invited to be part of the dialogue.

Discussions will take place under four broad priority areas namely: Substantially Reduce Illicit Trafficking; Advance Public Safety and Security; Promote Social Justice; and State Contributions.

Specific focus will be on strategies to improve the Region’s law enforcement capacity to substantially reduce illicit trafficking associated with transnational crimes, and approaches to prevent crimes by focusing on youth and other vulnerable sections of the population.

   I texted him after his Saint Lucia Jazz performance last Friday May 7, at the Pigeon Island National Landmark, to inform him that he now deserved that spread in the STAR that he had insisted on about a year ago. He called back laughing and humbly accepted the congratulatory remarks about his performance ahead of headliner Ne-Yo. It was a set where Teddyson (TJ) John had pulled out all the stops; a full complimentary band (the TJ Project), wonderful back up vocals, dancers, Brick and Lace out of Jamaica and even a wardrobe change. He told me later that when he started putting this together since last November, he was not even thinking cost.

“I just wanted to put my all into this and give Saint Lucians and those visiting for Jazz a memorable performance,” TJ told me. And it certainly was, with a blend of R&B, Reggae and Groovy Soca, the performer matched his vocal prowess with equally delightful stage presence and maneuvers, which was entertaining down to the last drop. From his own original numbers to a number called, “5 minutes to fame” dedicated to his brothers, a carnival segment and a finale dedicated to Haiti, the hard work paid off.

But this was not TJ’s first Jazz appearance, following his first visit to the festival in 1996 with his big brother and musician Francis John to see Carlos Santana. A few years later he joined his brother as a performer for Jazz in the band Sojourn, and later also performed with Blue Mango (formerly Sojourn) and Soul Fude as a drummer and vocalist. With Bue Mango TJ also toured Paris.

In 2000, TJ also wowed audiences when he took up a challenge thrown out by Patti Labelle for someone from the audience to join her on stage. Not only did the young singer wow the crowd but Patti herself appeared immensely impressed.

And as if to make a statement to his local fans that even though he had entered the world of Soca music in 2007, he was still a vocalist no matter the genre TJ stood tall as part of George Duke’s male vocal package during Saint Lucia Jazz 2009. There, he performed alongside Duke, R&B great Jefferey Osborne and Gospel singer Be Be Winans. And after his awesome set on Jazz Friday, he did an unplanned finale with Jeffery Osborne, Howard Hewitt and Freddy Jackson who were among the main acts at Saint Lucia Jazz Sunday May 9.

“I was just sitting backstage and heard someone call me when I looked it was Jefferey Osborne,” TJ recalls. “I was surprised that he not only remembered me but asked if I wanted to join them for the last song. That had me even more surprised.” But he did it and the reviews for his “Caribbean remix” of the ‘Woo Woo song’ have been overwhelming.

After that performance it was clear that when he said to me once that music is his passion and he does not one to be boxed in by genres, that he meant it. After all Jazz and R&B may have been the furthest thing on his mind growing up, let alone Soca. It was at the age of five he recalls that he started doing music in church, coming from a strong Christian home. “Not only did I enjoy singing, but I used to take empty Nido milk cans to create drums,” he recalls. At school he started writing his own Gospel songs and started looking at music and recording seriously when he teamed up with Ice Cold Productions headed by Irvin Loctar sometime in the 90s. By the time he left school he was certain that music was what he wanted to do and became the events coordinator at Le Sport at age 17. He then moved over to Sandals and got involved with the band Xtent, before being scooped up by his brother Francis John as the vocalist for the band Phaze 5. The band took up residency on celebrity cruise lines for a year. “That’s where I met Penn who was the drummer with the band and when we came back in 2006 he started going into Soca and the following year I was asked to do groovy,” TJ remembers.

At first he says he was apprehensive. “Yes I was nervous, because of how I was raised, my church background and I had never taken part in carnival. But I said why not and gave it a shot,” he states. That shot was “Coming Down The Road,” which won him the first Groovy Soca monarch title here and took him on the road in the region and north America. Since then he has been consistent with his carnival releases, having already released the song “Signal” for this year’s event. Earlier this year too he released “African Woman”— a Reggae track and music video.

Expect some more new music for Carnival this year, TJ says, which may possibly include a power Soca. A complete album is also in the making, “but it has to be right and properly packaged and managed.”

“I just want to stay focused. I want to reach my goals where music is concerned without losing sight of what’s important to me, my family and my wife, God and of course the talent he gave me,” TJ says. On that note he told the STAR that he would like to thank his family and friends for their support, his present employees Almond Morgan Bay where he serves as the musical director, his band the TJ project, dancers and musical director, 758; Ace, Dwayne and Pen and of course his supportive wife and all his fans and supporters.

   It’s about time St Lucians step up and stop complaining. That’s the view of Assistant Police Commissioner in charge of Crime and Intelligence Vernon Francois who sat down with the STAR this week to discuss the state of the police force . The interview was fuelled by a comment made last week by talk-show host Rick Wayne, who questioned the police force’s approach to crime.

“The crime is not nearly as bad as we make out,” Rick Wayne told his audience on his latest episode. “It’s not nearly as uncontrollable as we make out. Instead successive governments insist on doing things that are vote-catching like Bordelais. Our police force has been crap for years for more than one reason. They are not performing and a government that tolerates it is aiding and abetting crime. In some way, we too are enablers of crime,” Wayne said.

Wayne and Francois may be on the same wavelength. Francois believes the public is the one inadvertently encouraging the rising crime situation in the country by remaining silent.

Francois, however, thinks that there are unfounded criticisms by the public constantly hovering over those cops trying to execute their duties. But has the police force brought this on itself? How do they really go about solving crimes? With the help of the Crime Chief the STAR takes a look at the transition from training school to investigator.

As Francois explains: “In St Lucia we have dedicated Criminal Investigation Departments; Gros Islet, Castries, Soufriere and Vieux Fort. There is one or two people assigned to the other stations who are dedicated investigators.”

Each station operates on a twelve-hour shift system and has a corporal or two or a sergeant supervising. Before a cop is assigned to any of these departments, he/she has to go through the six-month training period for recruits at the Police Training School at La Toc to undergo a number of courses. One of those will deal with investigations and that course is about two weeks long and introduces the recruits to taking statements, interviewing persons, dealing with witnesses and different aspects of the interview. The recruits are observed during the course of their training and a determination is made after the initial training where a handful are selected to go directly into criminal investigation but the majority of the recruits are attached to stations. During their stay at the police station, the recruits are observed and if they show potential, they are selected to be a part of the Criminal Investigation Department.

Once selected, the recruits are assigned to more senior officers who should be supervising their work to aid with their development. There is an assessment system whereby the recruits’ progress is monitored. A subsequent two-week course dealing with investigations is introduced to build on the knowledge that the green investigator would have gained.
Investigators’ duties sound simple enough; they are responsible for taking the report of the complainant and looking into the matter. Unfortunately, more often than not this is easier said than done.
When a crime is reported, the investigator has to record the victim’s statement as to what happened. It is a written record as to what happened and the starting point of the investigation. They then have to visit the scene with crime scene officers and do a general canvas of the area to try to get a better idea as to what occurred. The Virtual Complainant (VC) may provide witnesses to the crime which will help progress the investigation.

A crime scene officer cannot be an investigating officer, explains Francois. There is a dedicated unit, the Scenes of Crime Department, which is aligned to CID but they do not comprise the same personnel. These officers are responsible for collecting physical evidence from a crime scene—for example collecting blood, shell casings and taking photographs. They are selected through the same process as investigators.

Following their progress as investigators, potential crime scene officers are interviewed and selected. After selection they undergo a training program at the basic, intermediate and advanced level dealing with the processing of a crime scene. The Force has an arrangement with a forensic institution in the United Kingdom who dispatch resource people in St Lucia to facilitate the training. Each level takes about six weeks to complete. It’s both theory and practical and then it’s on the job training. Currently there are two branches of this department; one operates out of Castries and the other out of Vieux Fort.

When the physical evidence is collected, it was sent to the Ezra Long Lab at Victoria Hospital but it is now sent to the new forensic facility. The Lab then makes a determination as to whether it can process the evidence collected or whether evidence needs to be sent to England or another country for further testing.

Quite aside from physical evidence, the police rely heavily on witness information. There are two levels of this category of evidence; information and intelligence. Intelligence is data that can be processed. It is a more advance stage of information. It is verifiable and corroborated.

Further to that, there are two levels of information the police receive from the public. Information can be given in the form of tips and then there is the other level which, according to Francois, the public is not inclined to go to. This is where, based on a witness’ knowledge of an incident, he/she will be able to go before the court and testify.
Police recruits in the courtroom as part of their training. The question is are they getting enough training to equip them to properly address crime?

Police recruits in the courtroom as part of their training. The question is are they getting enough training to equip them to properly address crime?

The public’s reluctance to testify in open court is understandable especially in the case of serious crimes such as murders and matters of national security. There is a blatant distrust lingering between the public and the police.

In addressing that issue, Francois admits cops have to acknowledge their causality in the situation. Said Francois, “It is important for us to put ourselves in a position for people to trust us. The problem with trust is that it is very fragile. If you have told the complainant you will be there at a particular time, don’t show up hours later or not at all without informing them. Our own actions as police officers result in the destruction of trust. It comes down to personal responsibility.”

He explains how this rift affects the investigative process.

“In the absence of you being prepared to be a witness, the police will pick up the person based on the information, the suspect will be questioned and put through the usual process but if it all doesn’t add up then we have to let the person go.”

Even with the latest shootings in the Marchand area, Francois admits the police have been receiving a great deal of information, which he says is a norm, but no one is willing to go on record so the police can act accordingly.

He empathizes with the public in its reluctance to come forward but says the public’s fear has no basis. “It’s a valid perception and a justified fear that harm may come to you or the people around you should you go to the police with what you know. It’s human nature. The reality is that we have not had any experience of anything happening to witnesses who have come forward.

“People are afraid that if they testify against a “bad man” retaliation will follow,” Francois told the STAR. He continued, “What the criminals do is that they use intimidation. We’ve had cases where witnesses back out at the last second before a case because they were standing by the courthouse waiting to give evidence and somebody passed and pointed their finger in the air so they are worried they will be targeted. With that kind of mentality, criminals will have a free reign in this country.”

But why would a witness want to go to the police with sensitive information knowing the force has more leaks than a sieve?

“In the cases where people want to give us information you don’t just meet any police officer on the street and reveal that kind of information. You should know who you’re dealing with. I do not accept that you simply cannot trust any police officer. I accept that you will not be able to trust every police officer. Obviously there are some among us that should not really be police officers but there should be somebody that you can trust.”

Another factor affecting witness testimonies is with the current justice system: every accused is required to face their accuser. For obvious reasons, witnesses are afraid to take the stand and should they decide to testify, witnesses, as citizens, have a right to ask, “What will the police do to protect me and my loved ones?”

Francois assumes the protection John Public is referring to is Witness Protection because the force just does not have the man power and it is not feasible to assign cops to every witness.

“If you fully understand the concept of Witness Protection, more people will not want to go through that. With witness protection, your life as you know it will cease to exist. We would have to give you a new identity. You will be disassociated with those closest to you. You will have to start a completely new life in a foreign country and you will not be able to live a public life. It is not as straightforward as everyone seems to think it is. There are some cases where it is required but a number of them do not fall in that category. Additionally, the cost associated with such a program is very high. We would have to finance you and your family; find you a place to live, a new job, new identity, etc. It is something that has merit and can be considered but it has to be carefully thought of.”

An incentive used to solicit information from the public is by offering rewards for information in certain crimes. For instance, an EC$25,000 reward is on the table for anyone with information in the Magistrate Smith shooting on April 8 this year. First of all, in this day and age, that amount is barely subsistence. Secondly, the rewards offered for information can be collected after a conviction. If there isn’t a conviction, a witness who comes forward under these circumstances would have left empty handed.