This has not been a great week for the Royal St Lucia Police Force. Accused by the international press of botching an investigation into the death of a British woman in Saint Lucia and now a Human Rights report released by the U.S. Department of State on its website brings to light the several unresolved police killings that took place in 2011.
The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011 also cites the constraints of the Director of Public Prosecutions office and the treatment of prisoners as among St Lucia’s human rights concerns. The United States report on Saint Lucia is especially interesting when juxtaposed against allegations early this year and last year that police officers were being denied U.S. travel visas because the U.S. was investigating the department over the killings. Police Commissioner Vernon Francois has since come out to deny this allegation, stating that the relationship between the local police force and the U.S. was a sound one of mutual co-operation.
The report, however, states that St Lucia’s “most serious human rights problems included reports of unlawful police killings, abuse of suspects and prisoners by the police, and long delays in trials and sentencing.”
The other human rights problems, stated the U.S. included corruption, violence against women, child abuse, and discrimination against consensual same-sex sexual activity.
The U.S. noted that “although the government took some steps to prosecute officials and employees who committed abuses, the procedure for investigating police officers was lengthy, cumbersome, and often inconclusive. When the rare cases reached trial years later, juries often acquitted, leaving an appearance of de facto impunity.”
Under the section, Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom/ Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life the report states that although the government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings, “there were 12 potentially unlawful fatal police shootings during the year, some reportedly committed by officers associated with an ad hoc task force within the police department. The Criminal Investigations Department conducted investigations and referred cases to the director of public prosecutions (DPP) for review.”
The U.S. stated that cases referred to the DPP were all in varying stages of review; three were pending coroner’s inquests, and the DPP had the rest under review. The U.S. gives the new government credit for taking steps to expedite investigative processes and review of these cases.
St Lucia’s record for resolving such cases was also highlighted with the U.S. citing “only limited progress in the DPP reviews and other investigations of unlawful killings dating back to 2006.”
Stated the report: “Authorities reported two police shootings from 2010 and one shooting from 2009 as still pending in the coroner’s inquest process. In March authorities brought the case of a police officer charged with manslaughter by recklessness for the fatal shooting of Stephen Flavius in 2006 to trial; the officer was found not guilty. At year’s end the trial of a police officer charged with manslaughter by recklessness in the 2008 fatal shooting of John Garvy Alcindor was before the court for trial.”
Under the segment in the report titled Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, it states that “citizens filed a number of complaints against the police, most of which were for abuse of authority. On at least four occasions, police were alleged to have shot men during an arrest or during a neighborhood sweep operation. Limited information was available regarding official investigations of complaints pending in various stages of review from earlier years; the DPP is responsible for filing charges in such cases but was unable to monitor their progress due to limited resources and manpower. A woman’s claim that police raped her while in custody in 2010 was under investigation; according to the police the woman was unable to identify her alleged attackers, and the DPP preliminarily ruled there was insufficient evidence to file charges. Although the government sometimes asserted that independent inquiries would be launched into allegations of abuse, the lack of information created a perception of impunity for the accused officers.”
The process of justice in St Lucia also came in for criticism with the U.S. stating that, “Although the government has institutions and procedures in place to investigate abuses by the security forces, these efforts have been ineffective overall. For instance, although authorities referred many cases for investigation and prosecution, prosecutions were rarely completed, and cases remained in investigation without conclusion for years. Lack of adequate human resources in the criminal justice system (prosecutors and criminal magistrates), delays in the judicial system, the reluctance of witnesses to testify, and strong public and political support for the police contributed to the overall inability of the government to address allegations efficiently.”
Other incidents to do with last year’s that made the news at home also made it into the report.
Under Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency the report St Lucia’s laws do not adequately deal with corruption of public officers.
On its website the U.S. state department explains that the information in its reports are acquired “using information from U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, foreign government officials, nongovernmental and international organizations, and published reports. U.S. diplomatic missions abroad prepared the initial drafts of the individual country reports, using information they gathered throughout the year from a variety of sources, including government officials, jurists, the armed forces, journalists, human rights monitors, academics, and labor activists.”
More next week!
Sunday 19 May, 2013
Human Rights: ‘potentially unlawful police shootings!’
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let me see the US report on how they treat the prisoners at guantanamo bay. we don’t have police in lucia what we have is some trigger happy power rangers
For Your INFO…the U.S only harbor TERRORIST at Guantanamo Naval Base. These are the same terrorist that the US would prevent from coming to your small island nation and sell drugs and guns to the youth, making it a decadent mess that it is turning into….Know what you talking about!
Ignorance is Bliss!
And you find bliss in the crap you saying!
not everyone there is guilty…. You don’t know what you’re talking about either. US very well could be violating human rights there.
EG.
In July 2005, 242 detainees were moved out of Guantanamo, including 173 that were released without charge, and 69 transferred to the governments of other countries, according to the U.S. Department of Defense
http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2005/July/20050720174600adynned0.488476.html
What’s even worse is we accept it……..and we are amazed that our youth Are killing each otter ……..we can fix this…….mr Kenny you promised ………we call for a referendum on electric chair…….new sensible laws ……guns.”..rape…..abuse…..cocaine ……with real jail time……efficient court system……..decriminalize and tax weed help end police abuse….lock up the thugs and greedy barons ….help end our newly adopted thug dishonest culture………protect our youth with laws that have teeth……what’s even funnier…..people die in stlucia because they can’t afford medical care but the spend thousands of dollars to destroy weed on the volcano in svg
Yep good ole USA……..when will we learn…like the idiots we are ….we keep doing the same ###### things over and over……yet we pray for results……but we self ….show wealth by any means necessary ….latest I phone and car…..sometimes six rotten teeth in our mouth as we drive the car we en really need…….booze is good weed makes you automatically police bait….for their boozer up egos although most of their women go unsatisfied…….@@@ it is what it is …….we like it so…….as for you mr Anthony…..step it up or step aside………..toof
Hey-Ho-Hey!!! The Great US of A!!!
MOST Olympic Medals for the USA!!!
London, 2012 Olympics
Love OR Hate US….USAAAAA dominance yayyyyy!!!!!
US report makes valid points but I still think they should devote more of their resources to fix their own issues …. Can’t tell another country what to fix when the same issues plague you.
Really???? ….and when sh** rolls down hill in St.lucia, where do most of the FUNDING come from??? The USA! If we can lend you millions of dollars from our Americans tax payers money, we certainly can tell you WHAT the f^*$K you need to do to improve yourself as a small and developing island nation
Haha!!!
21st century Yankee World
World Dominance USA
by that theory China needs to tell the US what to do….
Anyway fact is there are human rights issues and these issues need to be addressed.
I could not agree with you more, the US, needs to fix what’s going on in their backyard, before trying to fix other people’s business. I am not saying that our island is perfect; there are things that need fixing but we do not need Human Rights nor the US to tell us that either.
USAAAAA!!! Most Medals for London OLYMPICS 2012!!!!
HATE US or LOVE US….Its U.S.A Dominance in London Baby!!!
The US of GREAT AAAA!!!!
De Yankees Coming –Make way!
Go Team USA!
Most medals my foot. Explain to me why a little island like Jamaica tear them up in the last olympic
Topmun…go practice with the Jamaicans so you could tear down the US in the Olympics too. All y’all want what americans have.
So your talk is crap!
Represent Jamaica instead of st.lucia to steal medals from the US.lmao! wee babad!!! Where Rihanna to laugh at you fools. Because she on her way living the American dream!
Find your identity on the world stage and dont be like any freaking jamaican wanna be…Because the Jamaicans themselves don’t even like most of you. The see you as small islanders and blissfully ignorant and inexperienced on the world stage, with no identity!
World_Boss!
“Riahanna is living the American dream” indeed as she is in and out of rehab.Having said that she is still a successful black woman. But how do we really measure success. Success for one person means a total different thing for another;whether you are world artiste or a street cleaner. Each to their own.
Whether or not Jamaicans like us or not. We are living ourlives for us and not for them. Jamaicans on the other hand are even worse off in their behaviour and mentally than any other Caribeean island.There is more unity in the other islands as compared to how Jamaicans treat each other. What do you prefer unity or success and at the end of it you are still a bitter person.EACH TO THEIR…
I’m confused by the four posters ahead of me so far who all seem to be more worried about successfully shooting the messenger (the USA) than recognising that indeed there are serious human rights issues in St Lucia and the article outlines just A FEW of those human rights abuse areas.
Is there right to protest in St Lucia by the way as I’m not aware that St Lucians feel free to exercise that right. Is there freedom of speech? – I’m just not sure that this is a certainty!
CLEARLY we don’t need the United States to tell us that the right to due process at present does not exist in a functioning form here and there is apparently no indication that there is political will to change…
The US is living in a glass house and by pointing one finger, they have three pointing back at them. Now I’m not denying what they say because there probably are human-rights violations, but they need to clean up their house first. They have a long way to go, like inequality, racism, ‘hillbilly-ism’, that stupid 14th amendment right-to-bear-arms, your hatred towards your first black president etc…so hush up.
The USA is in a paradoxical existence, on the one hand it preaches an ideology of freedom, in fact America is more like a fascist state and so is Canada. North America is becoming that which it preaches against. The whole of humanity is in a flux. As long as there are humans around one has to expect human rights abuses. St. Lucia is no different from the States, as life gets more difficult and broke, the authorities have less tolerance for the slow pace of justice and sometimes the end result is very dangerous and bloody. We are only going to become deeper in debt and richer in violence.
Thank you Botox… for bring the truth to light because some people just have no clue, for example, our “friend” YankeeTexasCowGyal!
Cry down the USA all you want but if you just get a visitors visa to the same USA off you go on a trip of no return. Dont worry, jealous you jealous because they refuse you a visa. Haters on the loose!!!!!!
Well said Botox, its not about who can scream the loudest, its about who makes SENSE and you usually do
All you talking bad about the US blah blah blah blah blah….what you guys hate the US so much becuase the US denied your visas.
Go work in China instead! Because most of you sitting your butts in st.luica need employment!
Be like Jamaica and the Jamaicans work hard at the olympics to beat the US in the Olympics to get more medals. Go practice running and swimming to beat the US, since y’all hate America so much.
The same thing y’all hate is the same thing y’all craving for. To live the American Dream!!!!!!
Go get your visa from China then LOL!!!
Nuff talk crap
World Boss
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; When the government fears the people there is liberty. Thomas Jefferson.
The said thing here is most person are talking about the USA instead of focusing on the problems that they pointed out. If our house is so dirty that some one from outside has to tell us to clean it, what does that say about us?
why Americans dont mind their damn business? they ave soo many people in prison without ever trying them for any crime. where is the justice. have they wondered why soo many people hate america? they need to clean up their act before they try to bully people. stop invading countries and killing innocent people then u can come tell me what to do in my house. There is soo much racist in USA. whey they dont tell china that. they have embargo against Cuba for soo many yrs saying thet’re communist when they kiss China a** everyday.
There are abuses on the island but i support the police 100 percent, now were talking about jobs and not crime as much. Kuddos to the commish
We are not talking about the US we are talking about St.Lucia for Christ sake.The world is watching us is anybody there ? Helloooooooooooo.
Where is Yardy/Yardie the calypsonian from VF in all this? Excessive use of force? We’d all be talking about it if he had died. The system in St. Lucia has been plagued with instances of abuse. The way I see it Yardy/Yardie = Rodney King.
St. Lucians have been conditioned from birth to have a tremendous love and respect for money, almost like a worship of a money God. Now, the very wealthy don’t really have to worry about the authorities, and this includes the big mafia bosses, of course their malawahe workers are of a sect whose life has no value and this is reflected in their short miserable lives. If you are small time criminal or have any reason for Golden Hope help in your life, I would advise wearing bulletproof armament because you become a Babylon target if you have a record or are insane. St. Lucia is a beautiful and dangerous existence, you never know when s*#* is going to hit the courthouse.
We needed a solution to the problem that was at hand and at the time went everything we tryed was not working, so we did what was best in the intrest of country, i would like to ask the human rights what do they do to help the situation and st lucian`s went crime gets out of hand, they back prisoner`s rights and the whole lot of mumbo jumbo, this is from and uneducated man.
what did the human rights wanted us to do, there seem`s to be some form of peace,
We all like the easy way out. Killing these alleged criminals was easy than the police officers finding long term ways to achieve success in the fight against crime. Corruptness merely breeds more corruptness until someone takes a stand. Dr Anthony I hope you have learnt your lesson. When you make poor decisions because you didn’t have the cojones to make tough decisions evil will prevail right beneath your nose. Educating the masses is the only way forward and surviving. Sadly there is no other proven way right now.
Re: Unlawfull police shootings.
Why do some of us blame the Police and not the Thieves that are stealing from hard working people,we are looking at reality ass backward.Let’s look at the better ways to solve our problems by creating work for the Idlers so they will better things to do instead of stealing from us.The people that needs the help do not read blogs,so stop insulting one another through blogs and find solutions to solve the madness tha occurs at home.. STOP BLAMING THE LAW ENFORCERS, WHAT WOULD ST.LUCIA WITHOUT THEM?. Think smarter bros &sist’s..
the police have 2 do what is write 2 protect its nation. but in a lawfull way.
Are there any individuals on here whose father never made a mistake? When daddy tells you not to throw bricks in a glass house its because he or someone he knows has suffered from doing just that. Listen and take heed!
NOTHING WORST THAN A HUNGRY LUCIAN WITH A GREEN CARD