Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has told residents of Portsmouth and its environs to play their part in fighting crime.
Speaking at the opening of a new Scotia Bank Portsmouth center recently, Skerrit said that it is the moral responsibility of residents to help in fighting crime.
“At the end of the day, each citizen has a moral , legal and ethical responsibility to fight crime because if we want business to continue to thrive in Portsmouth.
“If we want Scotia Bank to continue to expand…we have to ensure that its presence here is enhanced rather than being undermined by own individuals and collective actions,” he urged.
Community patrols is also part of crime fighting. I was in Portsmouth in August, and there were no police officers walking the beat. However, they were sitting outside the police station having a good conversation for about an hour. Visible police presence is required at all times especially for a nation that is moving towards incorporating tourism as a larger percentage of its economy.
@One Love: love that respond you hit the nail right on the head
I am not a member of any political party because none represent my views, but surely mismanagement of public resources is a serious crime in itself, where politicians can no longer distinguish between their well being and that of their country.this is called white colour crime without criminals,we in Dominica seems to have a minister for every thing one can possible think of, but of course not a fraud sqaud ,our people are not interested in the great theories of society, they interested in seeing the practical things tackled as the song says it’s the same old story. It’s the rich who get the pleasure and the poor who get the blame!
@The Third Side:
The third side, I am not a supporter of THE UNITED WORKERS PARTY as you indicated.
I speak as a Dominican. I cann’t support Mr. James and his other guys by having me and other
Dominicans suffering under mr. Skerrite and his new labour movement by standing over the fence saying and doing nothing.
When we have corruption killing us here in Dominica and your mouth is shut and remain as a moomoo, I am not of your group.
Every political party come and go, so will Skerrite and his band of thieves!!!
@Emma:
I could not have put it better.
I sometimes wonder if some people actually read what they have typed before they submit.
If they do and they really think that there comments are worth while, well it says a lot about them.
Hmmmmm, You really meant to say, each and everyone of us has the moral, ethical and legal responsibility to fight crime eh Mr.PM? And does dat still exempt the head of the snake?
skerro is a preacher,who’s book refers to the congregation,and not to the reader,but mr.pm remember,the dull &ignorant dont only have…….but knows the story…….
Most be really hard being a uwp these days. Everything is viewed through politically. The PM is going to be here for a very long time, so donkeys like Pain, One Love, Karkarbeff, Poule Coutoni please have edison james and lennox ride all you brains
It is somewhat difficult to take these political leaders seriously. How can we encourage crime fighting among the civilian community when crime happens from the top- that includes government officials , ministers and top police officers. In order to foster civilian participation in crime fighting the element of trust must be the first and foremost ingredient. When there is obvious misconduct among government top officials- i.e not paying land purchase taxes ; Money laundering on garbage bins and fertilizer. When ministers become rich overnight – within 7 years (from a bounce check) a minister was able to own a 1.5 million dollar mansion with hired overseas base Architect and engineers; ( How many average Dominican build a $400K house and hire outside consultants for Architectural , Engineering and interior Decoration services). If the government ministers promote the attitude of “ get rich quick at any cost” then let us see how well we can convince the young people out there to work hard and achieve rather than to sell drugs and to hold up business places.
The RED CLINIC program is the biggest assault on morality and honesty and ultimately an obvious and blatant promotion of criminal activities. The RED CLINIC was not even a social welfare program. The government or rather the PM is unable to tell us where that money came from. The people are not stupid to think that our economy can support such a program and if our economy could then why is the red clinic not in operation. I liken the red clinic operation to that which was operated by the “DODOS “ the drug lord from Jamaica. DODOS was able to get people to accept his criminal behavior by propagating his own RED CLINIC program.
Unless the people trust the police Mr PM your words are useless. The corruption in the police department is not only as a result of a few corrupt police officers but also the result of a direct government and cabinet member interference. How can the average Dominican trust the police when a direct order was given to the policeman to return an illegal gun to the Businessman in Portsmouth. With that type of double standard let us see how well we can convince all the illegal gun owners to give up their guns.
When the son of a official can shoot someone behind the ears get out of police custody( Not even a night in jail) and take a flight to New York how can one not understand the people’s trust in the police or should I say the lack thereof.
While it is our duty as Dominicans to insure a crime free society the very front line for crime fighting is tainted by individuals who are themselves criminals .I sincerely hope that we come to our senses and eliminate the hypocrites who promote the old slavery mentality in the adage “ Do as I say not as I do “
well said. We live by example.
i think we should come together as a nation and focus on what is good for our country. what the PM says is not a bad thing. we are too quick to be judgemental about people before they open their mouth. we focus on too much on ‘who says what’ instead of what is said. people, this isn’t taking us anywhere safe. unless we don’t change our stupid mentality we will continue to go backward instead of forward. it doesn’t matter who says it, it is good. it is a challenge for some of us who see so many of our young people going astray and we cannot find the avenue to work with them, but we have to try.
@Truth: Mr. Truth, unlike you I am a fan of the pm and demonstrated so in the 2000 and 2005 elections. However truth is truth and should never be compromised. I heeded the labour party call in 2000 to vote out the UWP because they were corrupt according to them. Suprisingly, when labour won in 2000 the late pm made it clear that corruption was just a political strategy and there was no evidence. In 2005 I still did not vote them because I felt they were corrupt. Only to find out that MR. Skerrit has left the world to conclude that he is the worse currupt leader in the caribbean. I think we should speak with one voice and get him out so others will learn. I cannot take his advise to fight crime when he is the leader of national crimes. How do you expect me to run because you tell me that danger is ahead when at the same time you are walking. I like to follow people’s example and not their advise. I was a labourite in the 70’s but turned agaisnt PJ and voted them out when they were accused. How can I support a leader whose corruption is more glaring than all his predecessors put together? I am not a hypocrete
It is somewhat difficult to take these political leaders seriously. How can we encourage crime fighting among the civilian community when crime happens from the top- that includes government officials , ministers and top police officers. In order to foster civilian participation in crime fighting the element of trust must be the first and foremost ingredient. When there is obvious misconduct among government top officials- i.e not paying land purchase taxes ; Money laundering on garbage bins and fertilizer. When ministers become rich overnight – within 7 years (from a bounce check) a minister was able to own a 1.5 million dollar mansion with hired overseas base Architect and engineers; ( How many average Dominican build a $400K house and hire outside consultants for Architectural , Engineering and interior Decoration services). If the government ministers promote the attitude of “ get rich quick at any cost” then let us see how well we can convince the young people out there to work hard and achieve rather than to sell drugs and to hold up business places.
The RED CLINIC program is the biggest assault on morality and honesty and ultimately an obvious and blatant promotion of criminal activities. The RED CLINIC was not even a social welfare program. The government or rather the PM is unable to tell us where that money came from. The people are not stupid to think that our economy can support such a program and if our economy could then why is the red clinic not in operation. I liken the red clinic operation to that which was operated by the “DODOS “ the drug lord from Jamaica. DODOS was able to get people to accept his criminal behavior by propagating his own RED CLINIC program.
Unless the people trust the police Mr PM your words are useless. The corruption in the police department is not only as a result of a few corrupt police officers but also the result of a direct government and cabinet member interference. How can the average Dominican trust the police when a direct order was given to the policeman to return an illegal gun to the Businessman in Portsmouth. With that type of double standard let us see how well we can convince all the illegal gun owners to give up their guns.
When the son of a police officer can shoot someone behind the ears get out of police custody( Not even a night in jail) and take a flight to New York how can one not understand the people’s trust in the police or should I say the lack thereof.
While it is our duty as Dominicans to insure a crime free society the very front line for crime fighting is tainted by individuals who are themselves criminals .I sincerely hope that we come to our senses and eliminate the hypocrites who promote the old slavery mentality in the adage “ Do as I say not as I do “
Nice words but the Pm needs to understand that is not necessarily one who is caught because there are many out there that have committed worse crimes than those that were caught. The Prime Minister has many unanswered questions regarding his Villas and needs to clear the air before he makes such statement. Once again, the PM needs to tell us how he got money to build a $8-10 million Villas because any fool that listened to Bobble’s testimony at the court who conclude that Bubbles is not the owner and the PM is. The questions that remains to be answered are: 1.where did he get that much money becaus a $5,000.00 salary could not pay for that?. 2. Did he used the State money and office for personal gain 3. Is he involved in drugs?. 4. Does he have secret employees doing illegal things for him? If yes is the answer to any of the questions, then mr. PM it is hard to tell young people to stay away from crime when you have trained them to do just that.
Mr Prime minister, now that you have said your piece to the public, why don’t you tell the Portsmouth Police to do their job which they are being paid to do. Which is to Patrol the streets, patrol the neighborhoods, and patrol the business sectors. Mr Prime minister, when was the last time your ever see a Portsmouth police officer patrolling the streets, or the neighborhoods, or the business sector of Portsmouth? (NEVER) only by so doing will they be able to take a bite out of crime. The public are not paid to do Policeman’s work.
I am not a Fan of the PM. In spite of the PM’s questionable character and ethical standards we as a people should know when to draw the line; take the good from the bad and become one voice. A unified effort against crime is paramount to our future development. The PM’s call for a joint effort in fighting crime should be duly noted by all – irrespective of your party affiliation. Why must we politicize every thing
Sir the crime wave in Dominica is partly TRICKLE DOWN CRIMINALITY!! You have the audacity to ask people to help fight crime and when people try to fight it from the top you and the stoggies decalre war on them? Man you have no mpral authority to ask people to fight crime. Look in the mirror and take a deep, lonh introspective look!
I wish to take this opportunity to support the call by the Prime Minister for residents in the north and Portsmouth in particular to help fight crime thus making the community safe and more appealing for continued business development. We will all appreciate that Portsmouth is the fastest growing community in Dominica and as a result we are expected to see an increase in crime but we must ensure that the crime rate do not become a major issue and do everything in our power to nip crime in the bud…before it gets out of hand. We must be each other’s keeper and always be on the look out for the opportunistic thief and report all crimminal activity to the authorities.
Government must however ensure that the people are able to build trust and confidence in the police if they expect cooperation from the public in reporting crimminal activity. The Police must likewise be properly equipped and compensated in order to deliver good service to the community, and, they must treat every report of crimmminal activity with the high level of confientiality and integrity expected of them.
Once again, I support the call to make Portsmouth and by extension Dominica a safe place for people to live and do business, and, urge each and everyone of us to take responsibility for doing this by being each other’s keeper.
Hon. Prime Minister CRIME includes ALL violations of the law. Not just killing, stabbing, and pilfering biscuits at Astaphans! Stealing the State’s MONEY is indeed a CRIME! We need to fight those crimes also…
The PM needs not forget Grandbay while he is at it. We do hope that building the state-of-the-art police station there will no longer mean they are only required to cook food, have a good time and lay in wait to harrass marijuana users.
We hope and encourage a requirement for those police stationed in Grand bay to police the area, do their jobs and take it seriously, otherwise leave the force for those who are serious policemen. No more should they be using the excuse that their vehicle is not there and other such idiotic excuses for not policing the area.
all i know..is not killing…stealing..stabbing and fighting alone that is crime….
so all alot of people can say is..LOOK WHO’S TALKING…
my god u r so much in pain. whats the matter with you
Boy our PM have some BIG BAWLS papa to make such a statement. Mister is the best! Hail Mary Full Of Grace…….
The pm said
. . . “At the end of the day, each citizen has a moral , legal and ethical responsibility to fight crime . . ”
What about Lennox Linton and Jerry Brisbane? are they included too???
Mr. PM, why don’t you clear our minds of the the crimes that you are accused of, so that we can take you seriously?
We are at limbo. Hold a conference . Say something. Let our minds be at peace and rest or
sue those accusers!!