Basseterre, St. Kitts, August 26, 2013 (SKNIS): The Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force has launched a new website.
www.sknpolice.com allows members of the local community and the diaspora, an opportunity to stay updated on domestic security developments, as well as to learn about opportunities available in the agency.
“The overall objective of the website, is to keep the public informed and to give them an [additional] medium of access to the police force,” Commissioner of Police Celvin G. Walwyn told SKNIS. “There are things that you may not be able to ask personally of a police officer and you might be able to find that information on the website.”
These include tips on ways the public can be protected from being victims of crimes. Topics covered range from burglary, car-jacking, pool safety, shoplifting and neighbourhood watch to inhalant and drug abuse and economic crimes. There’s also a section for personal safety, protecting your property, teenagers and alcohol and child safety.
Additionally, persons can gain information on applying for a permit, learn about job opportunities and can report crimes directly to Crime Stoppers. Commissioner Walwyn explained that the partnership with Crime Stoppers, which was launched last December, has been quite useful.
“That was one of the first initiatives that we felt was very important here in St. Kitts and Nevis,” he said, noting that some persons are reluctant to give information to the police.
Persons that call 1-800-8477 will be answered by an operator in Canada who will take the information and forward it to authorities in St. Kitts and Nevis. The caller remains completely anonymous.
“The good thing about it however is that if the information you have given … results in an arrest then you may be eligible for a reward and we have paid out rewards since we began using crime stoppers,” revealed Commissioner Walwyn. “It has been very effective in helping us to solve crime here in the Federation.”
The police head encouraged persons to give feedback on sknpolice.com, noting that work is still in progress to expand its functionality. He also encouraged persons to ‘like’ the department’s Facebook page which is frequently updated with agency press releases.