Attendees at the meeting in St. Kitts, with (seated, from left) Opposition Leader Ellis Lorenzo Webster, Premier Cora Richardson Hodge, Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew, Governor Julia Crouch and Attor-ney General Garth Wilkin.
ANGUILLA--On Monday, July 14, Premier Cora Richardson Hodge led a high-level delegation to St. Kitts and Nevis for a knowledge-sharing engagement with Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew. The dis-cussions centred on the Federation’s crime reduction strategy, credited with a 75% decline in violent crime and the lowest homicide rate in over 25 years.
At the House of Assembly meeting on Tuesday, July 15, the premier publicly thanked Prime Minis-ter Drew and the government of St. Kitts and Nevis for inviting them to share the information. She said she was very happy that Leader of the Opposition Ellis Lorenzo Webster attended as well, show-ing that crime is not political. She said that the experience was eye-opening as they heard what St. Kitts has been able to achieve. She said that it is important to underscore that the issues to be ad-dressed stem from social issues and root causes.
Webster added his thanks to the prime minister and government of the Federation and said that he was glad to have been included in the visit. He described the meetings as very enlightening and in-formative and expressed the hope that Anguilla can reach similar solutions. He expressed the support of the Opposition for any solutions in crime prevention.
The Anguilla delegation expressed appreciation for the opportunity to observe and learn from St. Kitts and Nevis' experience. Prime Minister Dr. Drew reaffirmed his commitment to supporting re-gional counterparts in adopting solutions that reflect the Caribbean’s unique social context, noting, “For a Caribbean problem, we need a Caribbean prescription. By sharing our experiences and strate-gies, we strengthen the entire region.”
The key takeaways from the dialogue were, according to the Anguilla delegation:
* Mental Health Integration – St. Kitts established a mental health committee uniting psychiatrists, psychologists (both public and private) and school counsellors. Dr. Drew noted challenges in recruiting Caribbean psychiatrists but highlighted their success in retaining two full-time psychiatrists and growing local capacity.
* Tackling Addiction – Recognising the link between substance abuse and crime, St. Kitts and Nevis expanded its Drug Counselling Centre and adopted a new national strategy on addiction, approved by Cabinet two months ago.
* Youth-Focused Interventions – Schools now benefit from evidence-based programmes led by trained police officers, adapted from a US model. Dr. Drew underscored the programme’s measurable success and plans to expand it across the Caribbean.
* Citizen Security vs National Security – The Federation created a distinct Citizen Security framework focusing on the psychosocial needs of residents, not just law enforcement. “We see each citizen as a whole person and ask, how do we intervene before they turn to crime?” Dr. Drew explained.
* Regional Intelligence Sharing – Prime Minister Dr. Drew stressed the importance of sharing intelli-gence to combat cross-border criminal networks. “We know individuals move between islands – An-guilla, St. Kitts and others – to evade law enforcement. Collaboration is critical to closing those gaps.”
Later in the afternoon the delegation met with Commissioner of Police, James Sutton, and with Of-
ficers Cromwell Henry, Andre Mitchell, Travis Rogers and James Francis. Also included were Director of Public Prosecutions Adlai Smith; Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF) Force Fi-nance Officer Katya Laws; Force Personnel Officer and Citizen Security Coordinator Eartha Carey; and National Security Communications Officer and RSCNPF Public Relations Officer Lesleigh Joseph in a law enforcement round-table at the Nevis Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) conference room, focusing on knowledge sharing, policing strategies, emerging technologies and resource management to strengthen crime prevention and community safety.
The team also visited Governor General, Dame Marcella Althea Liburd, where she presented tokens of appreciation. In the final round-table meeting, the team engaged in discussions with Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Glenroy Blanchette; Sergeant Charmain Audain; Hance Richards; and Head of ELEVATE, Junie Hodge, that focused on perspectives from the community rep-resentatives and local officers on community policing, trust-building and partnership models. The Anguillian team praised the Federation’s holistic and data-driven approach, exploring how similar strategies might be adapted for Anguilla. This engagement marks a step forward in Anguilla’s efforts to strengthen public safety through regional cooperation and home-grown innovation.
