FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (AP) France's interior minister is scheduled to visit several French Caribbean islands that have reported an increase in violent crime despite having received additional resources last year.
Manuel Valls is scheduled to meet late Wednesday with officials in Martinique to review the effects of a French government program created in July 2012 to target high-crime areas. A 2012 state report noted that Martinique experienced a rise in drug trafficking and that neighboring Guadeloupe saw armed robberies double last year.
Despite an increase in police officers for both islands, authorities saw a jump in killings this year, with Guadeloupe reporting a record 38 slayings on the island of roughly 405,000 people.
Police union leaders have said they need dozens of additional officers.
