Preventing crime with quality data in Saint Kitts & Nevis

On 27-31 January, staff of the UNODC-INEGI Center of Excellence in Statistical Information on Government, Crime, Victimization and Justice (CoE) visited the city of Basseterre, capital of Saint Kitts & Nevis and delivered a Course on Crime Victimization Surveys.

The Course was hosted by the Ministry of National Security, with the participation of members of the Criminal Justice System, the Department of Statistics and other relevant governmental stakeholders. These actors agreed in adopting the Latin America and the Caribbean Crime Victimization Survey (LACSI) Initiative, which is a standardized questionnaire designed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to support Member States in the effort of improving the quality and availability of their crime statistics.

This standardized methodology will be adapted to the internal context of Saint Kitts & Nevis in order to better address their national needs. The questionnaire adaptation is taking place this week through the expertise of the CoE.

Stakeholders involvement is crucial for the buy-in of a Crime Victimization Survey. Their participation ensures that their need of information is met and that their different points of view are included in the planning and design phase of this Survey.

People from Saint Kitts & Nevis will benefit from the adoption of the UNODC LACSI Initiative by knowing more about the general perception of security and the percentage of crimes that are not reported to the authorities in their country, among others. These data will be useful to take evidence-based decision making and make Saint Kitts & Nevis a safer place.

Saint Kitts & Nevis is the 3rd country in the Caribbean, after Jamaica and Saint Lucia, in following international standards for crime measurement. The country will be able to better monitor the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). UNODC acknowledges Saint Kitts & Nevis for this effort.

UNODC offers technical assistance to Member States of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as other regions of the world. For more information, you can contact us through our email.