Security Crime Law and Order

Josue Pierre-Louis, President of the Electoral Council is being accused of rape and assault of Danielle Bernadin, a government secretary and graduate of State University of Haiti aged 27 years, at Port-au-Prince in Haiti. She works at the Ministry of the Interior at a position Josue Pierre-Louis had arranged.

Reason for Assault and Rape
He made a demand to see her phone that may have had sensitive information of the government or his nude pictures. Danielle Bernadin did not get anyone's help at Pierre's home that night. No one came to help her, even after screaming for help or security. She walked out with shoes and clothes in her arms and then a man riding a motorcycle took her home.

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Aside from being contested, the Permanent Electoral Council (CEP) is facing another challenge as its chief, Josue Pierre-Louis, is now being accused of rape. According to reports, Danielle Bernadin, a secretary at the Ministry of the Interior, claimed that Pierre-Louis raped her in his private estate in Tabarre on November 26.

Danielle Bernadin, also called as "Danny" in the office, said that the CEP chief had always picked her up and dropped her off after work. On the date of the alleged crime, however, Pierre-Louis reportedly took a detour, asking Bernadin to help him download applications for his new iPhone. At the estate, Bernadin was reportedly downloading applications when Pierre-Louis suddenly came in the room, carrying two assault rifles. The chief allegedly demanded for Bernadin to show him her mobile phone, which he believed to have been carrying sensitive government information. The victim claimed that Bernadin beat her up and then raped her. She added that she tried screaming for help but no one came.

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Haiti has been included in the list of kidnapping capitals in the world. Even if the country has recorded a decline in its kidnapping cases in the past, the number remains very high. Kidnappers in Haiti do not select victims based on their gender, age, nationality or race. As long as they have the opportunity to snatch someone, they will.

There are areas in Haiti that one must avoid due to security and safety concerns. Port-au-Prince, the country's capital, has a high crime rate. Slum areas in the capital, including Cite Soleil, Carrefour, Martissant, and the Delmas road area are hot spots for criminals. The same goes for urban route Nationale #1, the Boulevard Toussaint L'Ouverture and the American Road. Even public transportations are not safe because criminals, including kidnappers, can attack people in these areas.

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According to Haitian newspaper Haiti Observateur, Haitian businessman Clifford Brandt who is currently jailed for his involvement in the kidnapping of two Moscosso children, made revelations that are disturbing to the current presidential family as well as some other influential members of the Haitian society.

The newspaper cited U.S. officials who participated in the interrogation of Clifford Brandt and also French authorities who have been investigating another gang leader Amaral Duclona.

According to Haiti Observateur Clifford Brandt he is not the leader of the gang. He claims that he is number 5 down in the Kidnapping network. Above him comes directly Olivier Martelly who is number 6. Mr. Olivier Martelly is one of the sons of the current Haitian President Michel Martelly. It was further declared that the wife of the President was a direct beneficiary of Clifford Brandt kidnapping network. This comes in direct contributions of Clifford Brandt to help fund their various projects.

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Criminal law defines the act of kidnapping as the taking by force a victim, and keeping them illegally imprisoned. In the U.S., a considerable number of child kidnappings occur as the result of a custody battle. If the child gives their consent to be taken from the custodial parent, and the child is considered competent, certain jurisdictions do not define it as a kidnapping.

The U.S. kidnapping law derives from Britain's common law. In 1932, Charles and Anne Lindbergh lost their child to a kidnapper. The outcome of this world-wide publicized event was the passage of the Federal Kidnapping Act, giving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) the authority to investigate kidnapping incidents. This federal law states if the kidnapper takes the child beyond state borders, the crime can be federally prosecuted.

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Children are vulnerable in situations in which they feel uncomfortable, insecure, or frightened. Taught to obey adult authority without question, they are unable to act on their instincts when confronted with strangers who intend them harm. Here are some guidelines to keep your children safe.

• Sit down with your children and talk to them. Tell them if any stranger gets too close for comfort to run away as quickly as possible. Instruct them to yell as loud as possible as they run to safety.

• Don't allow your children to go anywhere by themselves. If they are young, have someone you know well accompany them. If your children are older, ensure they always travel with a friend. Keep tabs on your children.

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Abduction, a form of kidnapping, is often associated with family abduction. Family abduction occurs when a child is taken by force away from their family. Frequently the perpetrator is a parent, who has been involved in a child custody dispute with their former partner.

The legal definition of abduction is a coercive act performed in defiance of a custody order. In some cases, family abductions are carried out surreptitiously. They begin when a parent or anyone acting in their place uses pretext to get possession of the child, for instance, taking the child for an outing and never returning them. The perpetrator hides the child, taking them over state lines to keep the victim-parent away from their child. The objective of abduction is to get illegal custody of the child, violating the primary caretaker's rights.

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An AMBER Alert is an urgent bulletin put out when a family abduction has taken place. Issued across all forms of media, it gives the physical description of both child and perpetrator. Along with the physical characteristics of perpetrator and victim, the license plate number and make and model of the crime vehicle is also included.

AMBER Alerts use the Emergency Alert System to broadcast to news, on-air, and Internet media outlets. Other outlets include electronic highway billboards and other billboard entities such as Clear Channel.

The responsibility of issuing an AMBER Alert usually comes under the jurisdiction of highway patrol or state trooper agencies, which involve themselves in investigation of the abduction.

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The Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ) arrested Clifford Brandt, a businessman and entrepreneur, accused of kidnapping two youths, Coralie and Nicolas Moscoso. They were abducted on Bourdon Road. The kidnapping laid bare a network of abductors, who have been targeting victims for abduction for many years.

The arrest occurred on October 16, 2012 by the Cell Against Kidnapping and Criminal Brigade of the Haitian National Police (HNP). Five other suspects connected to the abduction were also taken into custody.

The abduction network has spread to the HNP. Senior command police officers and inspectors, past and present, have been implicated in abduction plots across Haiti. In particular, Inspector Edner Comé is being actively pursued, considered armed and dangerous.

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There was a case of smuggling in Cite Soleil that will soon be coming to a head. In a country as desperately poor as Haiti, contraband or the transportation of illegal goods, also known as smuggling, constitutes a major portion of crimes committed in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. Recently, a crack-down on the crime of smuggling has been initiated at the Institutional Committee, in the office of Prime Minister-Elect Laurent Lamothe.

The genesis of the crack-down began when Director General Fresnel Jean-Baptiste of the General Administration of Customs (AGD) sent his agents to lock-down a warehouse in Cite Soleil, whose contents held a wealth of smuggled merchandise from outside the country that had snuck through Port-au-Prince customs. Among the items discovered were 74 bags of frozen peas, 1,500 bags of milled corn, 250 cases of Mazola oil, and 495 gallons of Alberto oil.

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