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The surge of Fake Crime News Stories over the last week was an orchestrated plan to create mass hysteria on the eve of the annual St.Kitts Music Festival. This is a widespread sentiment as the Police High Command used a series of media releases to highlight and condemn the creation and dissemination of a plethora of Fake Crime News Stories in recent times.  Almost a dozen Fake News Stories have been identified as completely fabricated and fake within the last week alone ranging from a Western Union Robbery , Domestic Violence MURDER , Shootouts in Cayon and in Keys, a Murder in Keys, the Robbery of the Post Office by a Police and other stories were all debunked and dismissed  by the High Command as FAKE NEWS.

The High Command issued a statement expressing  disappointment at what they labeled as the continued manufacturing of stories by certain members in the general public.  

In the statement Commissioner Queeley encouraged the public to support the Police and said, “what we need at this time is the rallying of the community with the Police to fight Crime.  These individuals who are your family members, friends and associates who engage in this type of activity, that of spreading falsehoods are doing a disservice to all of us, and are attempting to undermine,  in my opinion, the work of the Police.”

 

He added, “do not buy into these rumors. remember when they ridicule the Police, they ridicule your family members, your friends, your neighbours. Our Police Force comes from our communities.”

 

 

The FAKE News stories were peddled by known surrogates, supporters, activists and media outlets of the St.Kitts-Nevis Opposition SKN Labour Party. This has precipitated the widely felt sentiment that the FAKE CRIME Stories were manufactured and generated by the Opposition to create mass hysteria on the eve of the SK Music Fest and thus put a damper on the much anticipated annual event. The Festival last year was the largest and most successful in years and the ruling Team UNITY Government was credited for the festival 2016 success. The 2017 installment of the fest is shaping up to be even more successful and with a general feel good atmosphere in the country with regards to economic activity and development it is felt that the Opposition felt pressured to create stories to detract from the plethora of successes of the new government and their SOMETHING GOOD IS HAPPENING Mantra which is resonating throughout the country.   

 

The country continues to grapple with the decades old crime problem despite the allocation and  injection of unprecedented financial and other resources into the security forces by the new Team UNITY Government led by Minister of National Security Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris . The High Command however, has indicated that the police will be relentless in their pursuit of criminals .