Saint Lucia: Criminality, including frequency, reporting of, and government response; availability of state protection for victims and witnesses (2011-October 2014)

1. Overview

The Saint Lucian daily newspaper the Voice reports that crime is a problem in Saint Lucia (The Voice 19 July 2014b; ibid. 8 Nov. 2012). Sources report that the types of crimes that occur include:

armed robbery (US 21 Aug. 2014);

gun violence (ibid.; Caribbean 360 18 July 2014);

homicide (ibid.; US 21 Aug. 2014);

drug trafficking (ibid.; Insight Crime 21 July 2014; UN 2012, 77);

muggings (Canada 12 Aug. 2014);

petty crime (ibid.; US 21 Aug. 2014);

human trafficking (ibid. June 2014, 329); and

gang violence (Insight Crime 21 July 2014; CMC 16 June 2014; UN 13 June 2014, para. 34).

2. Crime Statistics

2.1 Homicides

The weekly newspaper the St. Lucia Star reported that the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) released statistics indicating that there were 44 homicides in 2010, 39 in 2011 and 37 in 2012 (25 Mar. 2013). According to Organization of American States (OAS) statistics published in a 2013 United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) global study on homicide, there were 44 intentional homicides in Saint Lucia in 2010 and 39 in 2012, indicating a homicide rate of 24.8 per 100,000 people in 2010 and 21.6 per 100,000 people in 2012 (UN 2013, 125). In comparison, according to OAS and United Nations Surveys on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (CTS) statistics, Canada's homicide rate was 1.4 intentional homicides per 100,000 people in 2010 and 1.6 per 100,000 people in 2012 (UN 2013, 126).

The Voice reports that, according to RSLPF crime statistics, there were 36 homicides in 2013 (34 murders and 2 police shootings) (The Voice 15 Feb. 2014). The same source notes that, according to crime statistics released by the police, between 1 January 2014 and 31 May 2014 there were 13 homicides, which is the same amount as during the same time period in 2013 (ibid. 19 July 2014a). The same source indicates that there were 20 homicides between 1 January 2014 and 19 July 2014 (ibid.).

2.2 Other Crimes

The St. Lucia Star reports that, according to RSLPF statistics, there were 21,459 incidents of crime recorded in 2012, including crimes categorized as and related to "firearms, sexual, property, forgery, fraud, public order, personal, drug and those against administration of justice" (St. Lucia Star 25 Mar. 2013).

In 2013, there were approximately 19,000 incidents of crime reported to the police (ibid. 15 Feb. 2014; The Voice 15 Feb. 2014). In comparison to 2012, there were reportedly fewer cases of crimes against the person, sexual offences and crimes against property, but an increase in crimes related to drugs and firearms (ibid.; St. Lucia Star 15 Feb. 2014).

According to the Voice, between 1 January 2014 and 31 May 2014, there were 8,624 incidents of crime reported; an increase of 3 percent over the same time period in 2013 (The Voice 19 July 2014a).

However, sources note that not all crimes are reported to the police (UN 2012, 108; St. Lucia Star 28 Apr. 2014). According to a 2012 report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on citizen security in the Caribbean, which cites data from the 2010 UNDP Citizen Security Survey, 67 percent of respondents who were victims of "violent crimes" reported them to the police and 48 percent of those who were victims of property crime reported them to the police (UN 2012, 108). According to the St. Lucia Star, one of the reasons that people are reluctant to report crimes is because court cases take a long time and witnesses fear retaliation by the perpetrator (St. Lucia Star 28 Apr. 2014).

3. Areas Where Crimes Occur

The St. Lucia Star reported that, according to police statistics, the places with the highest number of crimes in 2012 were Castries, Gros-Islet and Vieux-Fort, which are also the areas that have the largest populations (St. Lucia Star 25 Mar. 2013). The Commissioner of Police reportedly said that sections of Castries that have trouble with crime include Chaussee Road, Wilton Yard, Leslie Land and Morne Du Don (Caribbean 360 18 July 2014). The St. Lucia Star reported on four homicides and gang violence that occurred in 2014 in the Bois Patat and Morne Du Don areas of Castries (28 Apr. 2014). According to a travel advisory by the government of Canada, areas of high crime include the districts of Marchand, Broglie, St. Grass, St. Leslie Land and Wilton Yard (Canada 12 Aug. 2014). An article in the Voice indicates that gangs are active in the town of Soufriere (31 July 2014).

According to a police inspector, the majority of homicides during the reporting period of 1 January 2014 to 31 May 2014 were in the Castries and Gros Islet districts (The Voice 19 July 2014a).

The Prime Minister reportedly said that the criminal gang problem in Saint Lucia has spread to suburban communities and is no longer only an inner-city and urban problem (Caribbean News Now 24 July 2013).

4. Types of Crime

4.1 Gang Violence

According to the 2012 UNDP report, there are no police estimates of the numbers of gangs or gang members in Saint Lucia nor "systemic research" on the prevalence of organized crime in Saint Lucia, but the number of gang homicides in the country "appears to be growing and contributing to a greater share of the nation's homicides" (UN 2012, 69, 71, 73). According to the 2010 survey conducted by the UNDP, 17.9 percent of people surveyed in Saint Lucia said that there was a criminal gang problem in their neighbourhood, which was the highest figure among the seven English-speaking Caribbean countries surveyed, in which the average was 12.5 percent (ibid., 68). Of those surveyed in Saint Lucia who said there was a gang problem in their neighbourhood, 39.7 percent described it as a "big problem" (ibid.).

The Prime Minister reportedly stated in 2013 that "Saint Lucia can no longer ignore the rise in criminal gangs and the attendant gun related violence and homicides" (Caribbean News Now 24 July 2013). Caribbean 360, a regional news website headquartered in Barbados (Caribbean 360 n.d.), reported that violence and shootings that occurred in Saint Lucia in July 2014 were believed to be caused by gang activity (Caribbean 360 18 July 2014). Likewise, the Voice reported that some recent shootings are believed to be gang-related (The Voice 31 July 2014).

According to an address by the Prime Minister in October 2011, most of the homicide victims in Saint Lucia are "young men barely out of their teens" (qtd. in St. Lucia Star 5 Oct. 2011). A 2014 article in the St. Lucia Star states that there is a problem of "youth-on-youth violence" and a "hike in youth crime" (ibid. 26 July 2014). Similarly, the Voice reported that homicides in the first five months of 2014 often involved young males killing other males with weapons, such as firearms and blunt objects (The Voice 19 July 2014a).

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed concern about "the climate of fear, insecurity, threat and violence linked to gangs" facing children and youth in Saint Lucia (UN 13 June 2014, para. 34).

4.2 Drug-related Crimes

According to the Commissioner of Police, as reported in the Voice, Saint Lucia is a "trans-shipment point for drugs between South and North America" (The Voice 15 Feb. 2014). Similarly, sources indicate that many islands in the Caribbean region act as trans-shipment points for drugs from South America to North America and Europe (Insight Crime 21 July 2014; US 28 Feb. 2014). According to the US Department of State's 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), the Eastern Caribbean, which includes Saint Lucia, has high rates of drug-related violent crime and "[m]any of the homicides resulted from turf wars between organized criminal groups fighting to control drug distribution" (ibid.). The same source indicates that drug trafficking through the Eastern Caribbean region increased in 2013 (ibid.). Insight Crime, a non-profit research institution that studies organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean (Insight Crime n.d.), similarly reports that there have been indicators that the amount of drugs passing through the Caribbean has been increasing, and also states that local gangs often play a role in providing security and transport to international traffickers (ibid. 21 July 2014).

5. Government Response

Sources indicate that Saint Lucia passed anti-gang legislation in 2014 (Insight Crime 21 July 2014; CMC 16 June 2014; Saint Lucia 12 June 2014). According to the website of the Government of Saint Lucia, the Anti-Gang Act, No. 4 of 2014 "criminalizes gang-related activity, including gang membership, facilitating gang-related criminal activity, and advising and recruiting for gangs" (ibid.). According to the government website, indictable offences under the Act include:

committing an offence at the direction of, or in association with a gang; possessing a bullet proof vest, firearm, ammunition or any equipment, instrument, material or device, whether lawfully or unlawfully obtained, with the intention to commit an offence in association with a gang; and aiding and abetting, whether directly or indirectly, any person to commit an offence identified under the Act. (ibid.)

The same source stipulates that penalties under the Act include the imposition of a fine of $100,000 and a term of imprisonment of up to 10 years (ibid). Information about the implementation of the legislation could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

In 2011, the government launched the "United Against Crime" campaign to get citizens more involved in the crime fighting process by creating links between the public and the police and educating citizens on how to protect themselves from becoming "victims of crime" (St. Lucia Star 5 Oct. 2011). According to a 2013 article by the Voice, the RSLPF is training officers in community policing in order "to be service driven, service delivered and in partnership with the community all in an effort to build public trust in police officers" as explained by the Commissioner of Police, and that this emphasis on community policing has had "encouraging" results (9 Feb. 2013). In 2014, the Commissioner of Police stated that the RSLPF has "strengthened intelligence" and has made crucial arrests in troubled areas of the city, such as the arrest and detainment of 10 gang members from the Morne Du Don area on charges including murder, attempted murder and other serious crimes (The Voice 15 Feb. 2014). He also indicated that the RSLPF has placed "great emphasis on community oriented policing" (St. Lucia Star 15 Feb. 2014.).

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child noted that the efforts of St. Lucian authorities to address gang violence include "providing life skills training to children, introducing community policing, and placing police in schools," but also noted that "insufficient attention is being paid by the State party to the root causes of this phenomenon" (UN 13 June 2014, para. 34).

The St. Lucia Star indicated that the detection rate of homicide cases- meaning those resulting in an arrest but not necessarily a conviction- was 48.7 percent in 2011 and 65 percent in 2012 (St. Lucia Star 25 Mar. 2013). Of the total number of crimes in 2012, 46 percent were detected (ibid.). Sources report that in 2013 there was a three percent increase in crime detection rates (ibid. 15 Feb. 2014; The Voice 15 Feb. 2014).

The UNDP report states that Caribbean nations, such as Saint Lucia, "lack the infrastructure and capacity to respond effectively to street gangs and organized crime" and that "crimes associated with street gangs and organized crime groups rarely lead to arrests and even more rarely lead to convictions" (UN 2012, 89). Statistics on prosecutions and convictions of violent crimes in Saint Lucia could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to the 2010 UNDP survey, 30.6 percent of those surveyed rated the capacity of the criminal justice system to solve and better manage human security as sufficient (ibid., 129). In terms of the police, the same survey indicated that 59.4 percent of those surveyed in St. Lucia had "some amount of confidence" and 11.6 percent had a "great deal of confidence" in the police to control crime (ibid., 106). According to the 2010 UNDP survey, 52.6 percent of those surveyed felt the police force needed to increase in size, 77 percent said that there needed to be more invested in the police, and 70.7 percent said there needs to be more police on the streets (ibid., 112).

The US Department of State's 2014 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which describes Saint Lucia as "a source and destination country for persons subjected to forced prostitution and forced labor," states that Saint Lucia "does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, however, it is making significant efforts to do so" (US June 2014, 329). According to the 2014 TIP report, Saint Lucian authorities conducted two sex trafficking investigations in 2013, but none in 2012 (ibid.). According to the report, the government did not report any prosecutions or convictions of trafficking in 2013, 2012 or 2011 (ibid.). The Ministry of National Security reportedly trained 130 police officers in 6 trafficking awareness workshops between September 2013 and March 2014 (ibid.).

The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013 states that security forces committed human rights abuses and that there were "long delays in investigating reports of unlawful police killings, abuse of suspects and prisoners by the police, and continued postponements of trials and sentencing" (US 27 Feb. 2014, 1).

According to Freedom House

[i]n recent years, the record of Saint Lucia's police and judicial system has been blemished by incidents including the severe beatings of inmates by police and impunity in cases of police assault and unlawful killings. In August 2013, the US government announced that it would no longer provide support to the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) due to credible allegations of gross human rights violations related to 12 extrajudicial killings that took place in 2010 and 2011. The government responded by inviting CARICOM [Caribbean Community] to investigate the killings and enlisting the Jamaican police to investigate the RSLPF. (Freedom House 2014).

Country Reports 2013 indicates that there was "limited progress" in investigations into the 12 police killings that took place in 2010 and 2011 as part of "Operation Restore Confidence" and that the government invited CARICOM to conduct an independent investigation into the killings (US 27 Feb. 2014, 2). The same source reports that there were 12 fatal police shootings in 2012, compared with only 1 in 2013 (ibid., 1).

6. Protection for Witnesses and Victims of Crime

In 2013, the police commissioner reportedly told the St. Lucia Star that a witness protection program would be an "expensive undertaking" but was "necessary" and that the RSLPF "was looking to collaborate with regional counterparts on the matter" (St. Lucia Star 19 Apr. 2014).

In September 2013, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) reportedly called for the establishment of a witness protection program "to assist witnesses who are unwilling or unable to give evidence" (The Voice 28 Sept. 2013). According to the Voice, some cases have been dismissed due to a lack of cooperation from witnesses (ibid.). In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the President of the Saint Lucia Bar Association said that, in a speech in September 2014, the DPP called for the implementation of a witness protection program because "she felt protection was inadequate" (St. Lucia Bar Association 20 Oct. 2014).

In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, an attorney in Saint Lucia said that there is no legislation pertaining to a formal witness protection program in Saint Lucia (Attorney 7 Oct. 2014). In contrast, the President of the Saint Lucia Bar Association said that Saint Lucia has legislation on the topic, but that "the program has never been utilized" and he was not sure "if there is sufficient funding for the level of surveillance required" (Saint Lucia Bar Association 20 Oct. 2014). He expressed the opinion that

[i]t would be difficult for witness protection to work in Saint Lucia because the places are so small. Someone would probably need to move to another island in the Caribbean, but even in those circumstances it is unlikely that the person's identity can be sufficiently concealed. (ibid.)

The St. Lucia Star has reported on cases from 2013 and 2014 in which victims of attempted murder were later shot and killed prior to receiving justice (St. Lucia Star 28 Apr. 2014; ibid. 25 Sept. 2013). In one case a 37-year-old man was shot and killed on 1 August 2013 following a murder attempt on himself and his 12-year-old son on 13 June 2013 (ibid.). He reportedly went to the police after the murder attempt and identified the shooter, but the suspect was reportedly released after 72 hours and the victim continued to live in the same neighbourhood as his alleged assailant (ibid.). According to the St. Lucia Star, the victim reached out to several agencies, including Social Services and the Ministry of National Security (ibid.). The Ministry of National Security reportedly told him that the places where the government would send him for his security would be secret - that no one could be told where he was - but the victim was reluctant to give up his freedom and employment (ibid.).

The St. Lucia Star also reported that a man was shot dead on 24 April 2014 prior to going to the courthouse to testify as the victim of an attempted murder that occurred seven months earlier at his doorstep (ibid. 28 Apr. 2014). The suspect in this murder attempt was reportedly arrested, released and re-arrested for other crimes, including a murder attempt on another individual (ibid.). The same source indicated that in 2013 a young witness was shot and killed "after he complained publicly about attempts on his life by individuals due to appear in court for attempting to murder him" (ibid.).

The St. Lucia Star also reported on a case in which a woman who feared for her life received protection from the local police (ibid. 19 Apr. 2014). The woman had reportedly said on the news that she had been receiving death threats after finding the body of her boyfriend (ibid.). Details about the form of protection the woman received could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Attorney, Saint Lucia. 7 October 2014. Telephone interview with the Research Directorate.

Canada. 12 August 2014. "Travel Advice and Advisories for Saint Lucia." [Accessed 7 Oct. 2014]

Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). 16 June 2014. "St. Lucia Government Moves to Deal with Gang Violence." (Factiva)

_____. 12 February 2014. "St. Lucia Govt Wants Strong Message Sent to Criminal Gangs." [Accessed 7 Oct. 2014]

Caribbean 360. 18 July 2014. "St. Lucia Crime Surge Linked to Gang Activity -Commissioner." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

_____. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 3 Nov. 2014]

Caribbean News Now. 24 July 2013. "Anti Gang Legislation Coming soon to St. Lucia." [Accessed 7 Oct. 2014]

Freedom House. 2014. "St. Lucia." Freedom in the World 2014. [Accessed 7 Oct. 2014]

Insight Crime. 21 July 2014. James Bargent. "St. Lucia Latest Caribbean Paradise to Turn Gang Battleground." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

_____. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 3 Nov. 2014]

Saint Lucia. 12 June 2014. Claudia Monlouis. "Anti Gang Act Ensures Safer Communities." [Accessed 3 Nov. 2014]

Saint Lucia Bar Association. 20 October 2014. Telephone interview with the President by the Research Directorate.

St. Lucia Star. 26 July 2014. Alexis B. Montgomery. "The Absence of a Social Conscience." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

_____. 28 April 2014. Toni Nicholas. "Community Under Siege: Is Justice Minister to Blame?" [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

_____. 19 April 2014. "Woman Under Police Protection." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

_____. 15 February 2014. Nasha Smith. "Drugs Continue to Haunt RSLPF." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

_____. 25 September 2013. Kayra Williams. "If you Die you Die!" [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

_____. 25 March 2013. "Police Reach New Highs in Crime Detection!" [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

_____. 5 October 2011. "PM: Restore St Lucia to Good Ole Days!" [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

United Nations (UN). 13 June 2014. Committee on the Rights of the Child. Concluding Observations on the Combined Second to Fourth Periodic Reports of Saint Lucia. (CRC/C/LCA/CO/2-4) (Advance - Unedited Version) [Accessed 17 Oct. 2014]

_____. 2013. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Global Study on Homicide 2013: Trend, Contexts, Data. [Accessed 17 Oct. 2014]

_____. 2012. United Nations Development Programme. Caribbean Human Development Report 2012: Human Development and the Shift to Better Citizen Security. [Accessed 17 Oct. 2014]

United States (US). 21 August 2014. Department of State. "Saint Lucia Alerts and Warnings." [Accessed 7 Oct. 2014]

_____. June 2014. Department of State. "St. Lucia (Tier 2)." Trafficking in Persons Report 2014. [Accessed 17 Oct. 2014]

_____. 28 February 2014. Department of State. "Eastern Caribbean." 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. [Accessed 7 Oct. 2014]

_____. 27 February 2014. Department of State. "Saint Lucia." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013. [Accessed 7 Oct. 2014]

The Voice. 31 July 2014. "Under-Strength Police Stretched Fighting Crime." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

_____. 19 July 2014a. "Crimes Up 3 Percent." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

_____. 19 July 2014b. "Deterring Crime." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

_____. 15 February 2014. Stan Bishop. "2013 Crime Statistics." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

_____. 28 September 2013. Trudy O. Glasgow. "Opening of the Law Year 2013-2014, Part 2." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

_____. 9 February 2013. Micah G. George. "Changing the Crime-Fighting Focus." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

_____. 8 November 2012. Merissa Stephe. "Commissioner Talks Crime." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2014]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact representatives of the following organizations were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: Saint Lucia - Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security, Ministry of Legal Affairs, Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (Commissioner of Police; Crime Intelligence Unit; Criminal Investigations Department). One lawyer was unable to provide information for this Response.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; CARICOM; Factiva; Jane's Terrorism Watch Report; Organization of American States; Organization of Eastern Caribbean States; Saint Lucia - Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security, Royal Saint Lucia Police Force; Small Arms Survey; United Nations - Refworld.