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Basseterre, St. Kitts, July 8, 2021 (SKNIS): St. Kitts and Nevis Royal Police Force in an effort to continue to serve and protect the people of St. Kitts and Nevis, established a Special Victims Unit in 2012 to better police the rise in sexual abuse, domestic grievance, and juvenile abuse.

Head of the Special Victims Unit, Detective Sergeant Consie Rogers, explained this during the July 7 edition of SKNIS’ “Working for You” and stated that “We also investigate crimes under the Offences Against the Person Act Chapter 4.21 of the Revised edition 2009 of the Laws of the Federation.”

She continued, “Some of these crimes are indecent assault, rape, buggery, incest and wounding with intent”

“We also investigate lots of unlawful carnal knowledge cases under the Criminal Law Amendment Act. We investigate any criminal offense that we see coming out of a domestic violence report such as battery, threat to kill, malicious damage, insulting language, assault, and unlawful communication,” said Detective Sergeant Rogers.

The Special Victims Unit also works closely with certain stakeholders such as the Department of Probation and Child Protection Services when there are juvenile-related matters and the Department of Gender Affairs when there are cases of domestic violence.

Detective Sergeant Rogers explained that the justification for working with the Department of Probation and Child Protection Services is because the agency is mandated to refer these matters to them as “their role entails providing counselling for the juvenile, doing assessments for the juvenile home visit, removing the juveniles from the abusive home and seeing about the welfare and protection of that child.

She also shed light on the reason for working with the Department of Gender Affairs.

“They provide counselling for the victims and the perpetrators and they also assist in areas such as temporary placement for the victims of gender-based violence,” she said.

She also said that the Special Victims Unit is “also in discussion with the Men’s Council who is willing to come on board to assist with working with the male victims and perpetrators.”