Tuesday, March 25 2008

Enhanced use of technology in the fight against crime and the introduction of a regional response unit topped the list of outcomes from last week’s three-day meeting of the region’s security chiefs which concluded last Friday at the Grand Coastal Inn on the East Coast.

In a statement, the security officials said that the outcomes of the meeting, including the possibility of introducing a regional response capacity and the enhanced use of technology to support law enforcement, will inform the Crime and Security discussions due to take place at the meeting of the Caricom Council of Ministers responsible for National Security and Law Enforcement.

This meeting will be followed by the Special Summit of the heads of Caricom on Regional Security, both scheduled to take place in Trinidad and Tobago in April, 2008. The statement did not go into detail as to what exactly was recommended, although it noted that among the general issues reviewed were the proliferation, trafficking and use of firearms and drugs; kidnapping, murders, gangs and maritime piracy.

The Caricom Standing Committees of Commissioners of Police and Military Chiefs met here in extraordinary joint session to review the current crime and security environment in the region. The meeting was mandated by Caricom Heads of Government at their recent Inter-sessional Meeting in The Bahamas. The joint statement noted that Caricom Heads had requested that the meeting identify critical national and regional anti-crime and security priorities, and brainstorm options for policing and security responses considered necessary to achieve a reduction in crime and violence in the immediate and short term.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, Patrick Manning, who has lead responsibility for security in the region, had floated the idea of a regional rapid response unit back in February. Manning had called for a fully trained and equipped rapid response Pan-Caribbean law enforcement unit to police the region. He said then that the security challenges of the region demanded a well-trained and equipped unit that could operate legally in any Caricom country in time of need.