Speaker of the House Peter Foster.
Speaker of the House of Assembly Peter Foster has said that serious attention must be paid towards improving the administration of justice on the island and advancing crime- solving.
“It will always help assist our administration of justice, if the mechanics of the system were working properly,” he noted.
He suggested that an improved forensic lab, proper court administration, proper court houses, well-equipped police officers and proper investigation units are all necessary.
“The level of crime is extremely concerning and we need to take a note of what is going on and equip ourselves to be able to deal with this. The laws are there, it is the determination to get going that is needed,” he added.
Attention to the issues, Foster said will help to improve the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) response to crime and help to reduce the increasing trend of criminal activities. He also raised concerns over the backlog of cases, which he opined should be given serious attention as well.
Within three weeks, three bodies were discovered in Gros Islet. The identity of a partly decomposed body found in an isolated area in Pigeon Point on Wednesday, April 9 and has been identified as 22-year-old Jamie Innocent of Morne Du Don. Innocent’s body was found with his head covered in a sack and his feet bound, between the Landings Resort and a feeder road to Gros Islet town.
In a separate incident, police are investigating the circumstances surrounding an unidentified body of a decomposing man, which was discovered on the Marisule Beach in Gros Islet, on Tuesday, April, 15. Police told reporters that the deceased, believed to be the body of a young male, was found covered by a bed sheet by a female passerby.
A body burnt beyond recognition, was also discovered in the remains of Range Rover in the Windward Hills area of Cap Estate, Gros Islet Saturday April, 26. A post mortem examination is being undertaken to determine the cause of death. However, the body has not been identified.