Editor,
I have read the letters from Mrs. Cockayne about her son’s tragic death. I sympathize with her and offer my condolences to her and her family. It is a senseless and horrible crime which needs to be solved.
I would, however, caution everyone from jumping to the conclusion the government does not take this crime seriously. I feel very confident this governor will take every action possible to bring these criminals to justice. I can say from my personal knowledge of Governor deJongh that he is a person of conscience and integrity. I think we should let them work the case and reserve any hasty judgements. I feel we are lucky now to have an Executive Branch that cares about the people.
It is really a shame that a few bad apples can make an entire community feel threatened. I would guess there are fewer than 10 hardcore criminals on St. John, and probably half of them are actually from St. Thomas.
I implore the police on St. John to take some action on all levels of crime. In the 1980s, New York implemented a zero tolerance program. They even went after the real low-level crimes. This tactic worked. Crime levels dropped in all categories.
I think St. John should consider a similar tactic. And I don’t mean ticketing people for seat belt violations, talking on a cell phone or parking by the ferry! I mean crimes that can lead to more serious felonies.
If we tolerate kids standing on street corners selling crack, or robbing houses, then things just get worse from there. I would suggest the people of St. John who are concerned about crime take an active role in notifying the police and media whenever they see a crime being committed.
It is our community, not the criminals’, they have no place in St. John. It is time for the honest hard working people of St. John to stand up and stop this attitude that we cannot do anything about this situation.
We can. Report criminal activity, call the police, write letters to your elected officials. Do something. We need to do whatever it takes to feel safe in our community.
Eric Tillett
