News

Prime Minister Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit continues to condemn senseless acts of violence within the Dominican society.

Last weekend, Secretary to the Cabinet, Steve Ferrol was viciously attacked in Roseau which left him nursing stab wounds at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

Prime Minister Skerrit is appalled by this incident and says efforts will continue to curb crime in Dominica.

“We continue to condemn acts of violence, any act of assault on anybody, whether it’s the president or a homeless person and in this case the cabinet secretary.  We, the country, when we talk about fighting crime we have to give the police certain flexibilities in dealing with criminal behaviour.  People must understand that if they engage themselves in criminal behaviour in the country that they will be affected.  This is the reason we go to Parliament to amend laws so that when these kinds of crimes occur then the penalty will be harsh and stiff.  We cannot feel sorry for people who believe that they can simply attack people, beat up people and shoot people and kill people.  We are not going to stand for this.”

The prime minister has told the nation that his administration will look at amending existing legislation which will encourage a decrease in crime levels.

“We are looking at additional legislation, existing legislation with a view to assisting in fighting those crimes.  Now obviously, the police cannot be everywhere to prevent these crimes but people must be held accountable for crimes they perpetuate.  We cannot blame somebody else or the so called system when someone goes and commits a crime, that person must be held responsible.  We will see increased activities by the police in 2013 and once the police take action, I’m hoping that people in the country support the police in their actions.  We have to respect people’s constitutional rights but at the same time, the same people who want their rights respected must respect the rights of others.  You cannot violate someone’s rights and expect yours to be intact, it cannot work.  If you violate someone’s right, your right will be violated and that is the approach we are going to be taking in 2013.”

Prime Minister Skerrit says Dominica is still considered to be one of the safer islands in the Caribbean.